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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Weekly Event Roundup

A list of the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Dallas Theater Center presents Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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The State Fair of Texas is still going strong, with Texas-OU weekend coming up, but there are plenty of other things to do and see in and around Dallas. They include six concerts in genres across the musical spectrum, three comedians, two dance productions, and two local theater productions.

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

Thursday, October 10

Aida Cuevas in concert
The “Queen of Ranchera Music,” Aida Cuevas, is celebrating Mexico’s bestselling artist, Juan Gabriel, with a new album, Aida Cuevas Canta a Juan Gabriel 40 años después. Performing her legendary friend’s biggest hits, Cuevas will exhibit her vocals on songs like “Te Lo Pido Por Favor,” “Te Sigo Amando,” “La Diferencia,” among others. She'll perform at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson.

Improv Addison presents Carlos Mencia
Comedian Carlos Mencia began his career doing stand-up on amateur night at the world-renowned comedy club, Laugh Factory. He later showcased at The Comedy Store and became a regular, performing nightly. After he found success on the L.A comedy circuit, Mencia was named "International Comedy Grand Champion" from Buscando Estrellas (the Latino version of Star Search). This led to appearances on In Living Color, The Arsenio Hall Show, Moesha, and An Evening at the Improv. He'll perform six times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Men At Work in concert
Colin Hay, the lead singer of the Australian group Men At Work, has made many visits to Dallas as a solo performer over the years, but this is the first time he's returned under the name of the group with which he got his start. At this concert at the Longhorn Ballroom, he will play an exclusively Men At Work set, including hits like "Down Under," "Overkill," and more.

Friday, October 11

Felipe Esparza: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Tour
Felipe Esparaza is a comedian and actor, best known for his raw, real-life comedy, his wild hair and his often-imitated phrase, “what’s up, fool?" He comes to Dallas as part of his The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly tour, where he will be joined by fellow comedians Ralph Barbosa, Chris Estrada, Ken Flores, Frankie Quinones, and Rene Vaca, with music by Deorro. The event takes place at Majestic Theatre.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents DanceAfrica
Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s annual DanceAfrica festival, back for its 19th year, aims to encapsulate the powerful connection between music, dance, and community. Following a week of related activities, the main event on Friday and Saturday at Moody Performance Hall is a multigenerational celebration that highlights African heritage and the shared foundation of rhythm and drums.

Artists Sans Frontières presents Hazards
The raw power of human resilience is on display in Hazards, a gripping and emotionally charged dance-theatre production by Artists Sans Frontières. The production unveils the harrowing journeys of refugees, asylum seekers, and individuals forcibly displaced by conflict, violence, and natural disasters. The production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, will have three performances through Sunday at Wyly Theatre.

Dallas Theater Center presents Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a laugh-out-loud, gender-bending romp, what happens when you take Bram Stoker’s legendary story and put it into a blender with Mel Brooks, Monty Python, and The 39 Steps. When her sister Mina falls ill with a mysterious disease of the blood, Lucy Westfeldt and her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, enlist the help of famed vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing. Their hunt for the elusive and seductive Count Dracula abounds with clever wordplay and quick-change antics. The production runs through November 3 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Pegasus Theatre presents Tales From Late Night Kroger
Tales From Late Night Kroger is based on a series of Facebook posts the late, great, Bruce R. Coleman made about his encounters with a motley bunch of characters when he would shop late at night at the Oak Lawn Kroger. The production runs through October 26 at Bath House Cultural Center.

The Avett Brothers in concert
The career of folk rock band The Avett Brothers can be broken in two halves. For their first five albums, released between 2002 and 2007, they barely made a blip on the musical radar. But then came 2009's I and Love and You, and they're suddenly near the top of the charts whenever they decide to release new music. They'll play at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie in support of their new self-titled album. They'll be joined by Jamestown Revival.

Saturday, October 12

Meghan Trainor in concert
Pop star Meghan Trainor has faced a similar road to many other singers/bands after she was shot out of a cannon following her 2014 No. 1 hit, "All About That Bass." The residual goodwill from that song led to her next few songs and her follow-up album selling well, but she hasn't reached those heights since. She'll perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in support of her new album, Timeless, which features collaborations with everyone from T-Pain to Paris Hilton.

Sunday, October 13

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold"
After a preview of two sections of Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen (the Ring cycle), The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Fabio Luisi, will present an opera-in-concert version of all four parts, starting with Das Rheingold. The “Prologue” of Wagner’s masterpiece sets the mighty saga in motion and prepares the audience for what is to come. Taking place at Meyerson Symphony Center, it will be followed by part two, Die Walküre, on Tuesday, and the final two parts next weekend.

Photo by Jordan Fraker

Dallas Theater Center presents Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Jeff Arcuri: The Full Beans Fall Tour
Comedian Jeff Arcuri has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, Laughs! on Fox, SiriusXM, and a plethora of comedy festivals around the country. Based in New York, Arcuri can be seen nightly at The Comedy Cellar. He'll perform twice at Majestic Theatre.

Boyz II Men in concert with Robin Thicke
R&B superstars Boyz II Men were one of the biggest groups of the '90s, wowing the masses with hits like "Motownphilly," "End of the Road," "I'll Make Love to You," "On Bended Knee," and "4 Seasons of Loneliness." They went on release 15 albums in their career, but none since Under the Streetlight in 2017, so expect a heavy rotation of their classic hits. They'll perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, with support from special guest Robin Thicke.

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