Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There's quite a lot going on in and around Dallas this weekend, with a nice variety to entice a wide number of eventgoers. There will be festivals focused on art, movies, and environmentalism, along with a new — and timely — local theater production, a big-name concert, a golf tournament featuring celebrities, a live version of The Bachelor, and much more.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, April 21

Dallas Art Fair
The Dallas Art Fair will resume its regular schedule, returning to its longtime home of Fashion Industry Gallery. For its 14th edition, the fair will showcase thoughtful, engaging presentations from close to 100 international exhibitors and welcome a global array of artists, collectors, curators, and writers through its doors. The fair kicks off with a VIP preview night on Thursday, followed by public dates Friday through Sunday.

USA Film Festival
The 52nd Annual USA Film Festival will feature 24 different programs, including narrative features, documentary features, and short films. Festival highlights will include a salute to actress Sally Struthers in conjunction with a special 50th Anniversary screening of The Getaway; a salute to Dallas-Fort Worth journalist Bob Ray Sanders; and closing night film The Duke, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. The festival, which is free with reservations, will take place at Angelika Film Center Dallas through Sunday.

Ochre House Theater presents In The Garden: Марні троянди (Futile Roses)
As the world watches Russia's invasion of Ukraine in horror, Ochre House Theater will honor Ukraine with Марні троянди (pronounced "Marni Troyandy," Ukrainian for Futile Roses) as part of their newest series, In The Garden. While their city is being devastated by an invasion, a family strives to maintain their sanity, dignity, and seeks to find normalcy in a world turned upside down. The production, featuring the voice of Ukrainian actor Denys Lyubimov, will run through April 30.

Friday, April 22

ClubCorp Classic
The inaugural ClubCorp Classic, an officially sanctioned PGA TOUR Champions and Charles Schwab Cup event, will feature a star-studded field of 50 celebrity golfers competing alongside the pros. Celebrity participants like Anthony Anderson, Tim Brown, Greg Maddux, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Tony Romo, Emmitt Smith, and Annika Sörenstam will compete with pro players like Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, John Daly, Mike Weir, Colin Montgomerie, and more. The tournament goes on through Sunday at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving.

Earthx 2022 Expo
At Earthx2022, attendees can learn more about how to take and inspire action towards a more sustainable future worldwide. This year's conference and family-friendly expo, taking place at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center through Sunday, will feature hundreds of exhibitors and Earth Day activities like solar art classes, outdoor concerts, dance classes, and more.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Bernstein’s West Side Story & Gershwin’s Piano Concerto
Those still on a high from seeing Steven Spielberg's update of West Side Story will love the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's latest concert, featuring conductor Thomas Wilkins and pianist Joyce Yang. Selections will include Florence Price's Dances In The Canebrakes, Gershwin's Piano Concerto In F, Ulysses Kay's Overture To Theatre Set, and Bernstein's West Side Story: Symphonic Dances and “America” from West Side Story. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents DBDT: Encore! - Rising Excellence
DBDT: Encore! - Rising Excellence has always been a catalyst for showcasing young artists. In a first for Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s organization, dance/choreographic duo Derion Loman and Madison Olandt jointly created The Long Wait, a drama of cosmic proportions that will make its world premiere. The program also includes Diaspora, a new work choreographed by Nycole Ray and Richard A. Freeman, Jr. There will be two performances — one Friday and one Saturday — at Moody Performance Hall.

Rain: A Tribute To the Beatles
Rain's performance takes people back in time with The Beatles, delivering a note-for-note theatrical event. In addition to the updated sets that include state of the art LED, high-definition screens, and multimedia content, Rain will bring the Abbey Road album and the legendary rooftop concert to life. The concert takes place at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, April 23

The Bachelor Live on Stage
The Bachelor Live On Stage will be a wildly flirtatious and interactive evening, hosted by Becca Kufrin, featuring appearances by James Bonsall (season 17), Rick Leach (season 18), Connor Brennan (season 17), Ivan Hall (season 16), Justin Glaze (season 17), Andrew Spencer (season 17), and Rodney Mathews (season 18) from The Bachelorette. Local women will be hand-picked from the audience to participate in the journey unfolding on stage. The event takes place at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Command Performance
TITAS/Dance Unbound's Command Performance always delivers one of the most exciting performances of the year. The event, taking place at Winspear Opera House, features TITAS-commissioned works created specifically for this gala performance, including works by some of the world’s leading choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Dwight Rhoden, Jessica Lang, Mia Michaels, Sonya Tayeh, Bridget L. Moore, and WANG Yuanyuan.

Sunday, April 24

Nasher Sculpture Center exhibition closings
Sunday will be the last day to view two related exhibitions at Nasher Sculpture Center. Harry Bertoia: "Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life" is the first large-scale museum examination of the artist’s career in the United States, bringing together close to 100 works from all facets of Bertoia’s extensive and diverse artistic practice. Olivia Block: "Sightings" is a complement to the Harry Bertoia retrospective, featuring a sound installation comprised from recordings of Bertoia’s sounding sculptures, which are part the exhibition.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents "Towers of Tomorrow with LEGO Bricks" closing day
Sunday will also be the last day to view "Towers of Tomorrow with LEGO Bricks" at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The exhibition features 20 iconic skyscrapers from across the globe constructed with more than half a million LEGO bricks. After interacting with the intricate structures, which include everything from the world’s tallest building to the Empire State Building, guests are encouraged to create their own "tower of tomorrow" in construction areas, which are equipped with more than 200,000 LEGO bricks.

John Mayer in concert
The last time we saw John Mayer in Dallas, it was as part of Dead & Company, where Mayer has carried on the legacy of Jerry Garcia with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead. He'll return as a solo act for the first time since 2019 in support of his 2021 album, Sob Rock. The concert takes place at American Airlines Center.

The Dallas Art Fair takes place at Fashion Industry Gallery through April 24.

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

The Dallas Art Fair takes place at Fashion Industry Gallery through April 24.

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Movies for Kids

Kid-themed film festival at Angelika Dallas will be free to all

Photo courtesy of Viva Kids

The 42nd annual KidFilm will feature screenings of The Pout-Pout Fish and other new animated films.

A family-friendly kid-themed festival is coming to Dallas that'll be free for all: The 42nd Annual KidFilm Family Festival, the oldest and largest children-themed film festival in the U.S., will take place on January 17 and 18, 2026 at the Angelika Film Center Dallas with film debuts, animated films, and an appearance by a renowned children's author.

KidFilm is an annual outreach program of the USA Film Festival/Dallas, a 56-year-old nonprofit dedicated to film and the arts.

The big highlight of this year's KidFilm is a salute to children’s book author Deborah Diesen, who will appear in conjunction with a screening of Viva Kids’ new animated feature film, The Pout-Pout Fish — based on Diesen's 2008 book, which started a series that has now reached 20 entries.

The film — about Mr. Fish, a pouty introvert, and Pip, an energetic sea dragon, who embark on a daunting quest to find a legendary fish to grant their wish to save their homes — features a star-studded voice cast with familiar names like Nick Offerman, Miranda Otto, Jordin Sparks, and Amy Sedaris.

Free copies of the new book, The Pout-Pout Fish Movie Storybook, will be distributed to families (while supplies last), and Diesen will sign books for the kids.

The festival will also include screenings of other new animated feature films:

Leon Joosen's The Land of Sometimes, a musical which follows twins Alfie and Elise who get more than they bargained for as they are whisked away to a magical world after summoning a mysterious Wish Collector.
Mark Risley’s Flower of the Dawn, a fairy tale that follows a princess who has been turned into a nightingale by a vain sorceress whose only hope is to attain an elusive, magical flower.
Reza Memari’s The Last Whale Singer, an adventure which features a self-doubting teenage humpback whale who must face his fears and embark on a perilous journey with his friends in order to discover his own song and save the ocean from a monstrous creature.
Caroline Origer’s Spiked, which follows a young, orphaned hedgehog and overextended rabbit father who experience the adventure of a lifetime.
Vincent Bal & Wip Vernooij's Miss Moxy, a comedy which features a domestic cat who gets lost during a vacation and must find her way back home through the South of Europe with the help of the most despicable creatures a cat can imagine: a comical dog and an old, wise bird.

Additionally, the festival will include several new live-action feature films:

Gregory Alan Williams’ Paw Paw & Dayja, which follows the adventures of a Bigfoot obsessed 10-year-old who, with the help of her grandfather, learns that each of us see the world a little differently but everyone’s view has value.
Neven Hitrec’s The Second Diary of Paulina P., which follows a fifth grader who uses her charm and imagination to navigate a strict teacher, her first bully, and the new dynamic with her grandmother who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Tord Danielsson’s The Crown Prince and the Return of the Tyrant, a fantasy film that follows a young Crown Prince who will soon become king, just as he has always dreamed, when his suspicious grandmother returns to the kingdom.

Finally, there will be 22 short film presentations featuring animated and live-action short films from around the world, including works from Belgium, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Serbia, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and U.S. (including two films made by Texans).

The event is free thanks to support from the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and from the Festival’s Season Sponsors which include the Carol and Alan J. Bernon Family Charitable Foundation, Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District, The Eugene McDermott Foundation, Sidley Austin LLP, Headington Companies, Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate, Gaedeke Group, Mary Fox & Laura Fox, Moody Fund for the Arts, Dallas Film Commission, Angelika Film Center Dallas, Wildworks PR, DFW Child, and Spracklen Film and Video. The USA Film Festival is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The full schedule of KidFilm programs can be found at usafilmfestival.com. Tickets for all shows are free for both children and adults, but tickets are required for admission.

Advance tickets for most programs is available online through January 14 at eventbrite.com. Any unreserved tickets will be made available at the Angelika Theater box office on the day of show only.

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