Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

This weekend around Dallas brings many opportunities to get out and enjoy the wide variety of events the area has to offer. Among the choices will be festivals celebrating food, wine, beer, and sustainability; a trio of concerts; arts performances in the Dallas Arts District; and a fun event for fans of NERF.

Below are the best to spend your precious free time this weekend.

Thursday, June 10

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Food and Wine Festival: A Gatsby Garden Soirée
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden’s fourth annual Food & Wine Festival features a festive theme and top chefs, with plenty of space to stroll, sip, and sample small plates. Themed "A Gatsby Garden Soirée," the event includes music, fine wines, craft beer, and food stations. After Thursday night’s affair, guests are invited back to the Arboretum on Saturday and Sunday for a Garden Market experience featuring dozens of local vendors showcasing their products for sale, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the garden.

Texas Ale Project presents TAP Fest
Texas Ale Project will celebrate its sixth anniversary with a four-day beer and music festival. The event will include big announcements, round table discussions, beer tastings, games and contests, and the opportunity to taste, feel, and experience everything Texas Ale Project. The festival will happen daily through Sunday.

Vaden Todd Lewis of Toadies in concert
Toadies lead singer Vaden Todd Lewis will play a special acoustic solo concert at Legacy Hall in Plano, his first live performance since 2019. Toadies have more than 30 years and seven studio albums behind them, including the platinum-selling Rubberneck. The group is a Dallas-Fort Worth original, complete with five signature beers with Martin House Brewing and a “Toadies Day” declared by their hometown of Fort Worth.

Friday, June 11

NERF Challenge
The NERF Challenge, taking place on weekends through August 8 in Centennial Hall at Fair Park, lets attendees participate in a variety of competitive sports experiences using the latest in NERF technology. Activities will include Wrecking Bowling, where guests become a human wrecking ball trying to knock over 10 huge bowling pins; Colossal Foosball, a super-sized version of Foosball where players can step onto the field and compete; Try-athlon Ninja Style Circuit Course, a soft play obstacle course designed to test athletic prowess; and more.

Jack Ingram in concert
Over the past 25 years, country singer Jack Ingram has become such a big part of the Texas music landscape that he's even teamed up with two other Texas celebrities — former UT football coach Mack Brown and actor Matthew McConaughey — for an annual fundraiser event in Austin. He's also released 10 albums in his career, including 2019's Ridin' High ... Again. He'll play at The Kessler.

Saturday, June 12

The Boho Market presents The Slow Down Symposium
The Slow Down Symposium is an event focused on practical ways everyone can make a difference through sustainable measures. This day-long festival, taking place in the Women's Museum at Fair Park, will feature a variety of local makers and artisans with workshops, talks from sustainability experts, and a sustainable makers market. Other attractions include yoga and mindfulness practice, farming demonstrations, a clothing swap, and more.

Fort Worth Opera presents Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World
Fort Worth Opera makes the journey across the Metroplex to present two performances of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, a mini, 20-minute version of the family-friendly opera performed in celebration of the DMA’s current "Frida Kahlo: Five Works" exhibition, which ends on June 20. The opera follows the real-life story of Marianna Morillo Safa and her friendship with the famed painter. The performances will take place outdoors on the Dallas Museum of Art’s Eagle Family Plaza.

Orchestra of New Spain presents "Music of Neglected Black Composers"
The Orchestra of New Spain will present "Music of Neglected Black Composers," its final concert of the season. The orchestra will celebrate the Texas roots of Juneteenth with a range of classical music by Black composers. The program will include String Quartet No 1 from Joseph Bologna, Chevalier de St. Georges, "Four Noveletten" by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, "Strum" by Jessie Montgomery, and "Danzas de Panama" by Grant Still. The performance will take place at Zion Lutheran Church.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Alonzo King/LINES Ballet
Gorgeous, stunning dancers with impeccable technique and powerfully visual works are what make Alonzo King/LINES Ballet so special. Like none other, Alonzo King creates an unforgettable dialogue between movement and music. The dance troupe returns to Dallas for the first time in three years for a one-night-only performance at Winspear Opera House.

Fort Worth Opera will present two 20-minute performances of Frida Kahlo and Bravest Girl in World at the Dallas Museum of Art on June 12.

Fort Worth Opera, Frida Kahlo and Bravest Girl in World

Photo by Timothy Walker Jr.

Fort Worth Opera will present two 20-minute performances of Frida Kahlo and Bravest Girl in World at the Dallas Museum of Art on June 12.

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Movie review

Adam Scott gets creeped out exploring eerie Irish hotel in Hokum

Photo courtesy of Neon

Adam Scott in Hokum.

There are relatively few actors who can switch back and forth between comedy and drama easily, but Adam Scott is the rare exception. He’s equally as well known for starring in comedy projects like Parks & Recreation, Party Down, and Step Brothers as he is for dramas like Big Little Lies and Severance. He’s going the latter route again in the new horror film, Hokum.

Scott plays author Ohm Bauman, who’s trying to finish his latest book. In an effort to avoid distractions and also pay tribute to his parents, he retreats to an Irish hotel where his mom and dad spent their honeymoon. Bauman, who is about as stand-offish as you can get, and the staff of the hotel are at odds almost right away, although Bauman finds a kind of kinship with Jerry (David Wilmot), a seemingly-homeless man he meets in a nearby forest.

Bauman becomes intrigued with the story of the hotel’s closed-off honeymoon suite, which is said to be haunted. His curiosity, though, seems to trigger a variety of strange things, one of which ends with him in an extended stay at the hospital. He returns to the hotel determined more than ever to discover what’s really happening in the honeymoon suite, with things both normal and supernatural blocking his way at every turn.

Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy, the film’s approach to horror is both subtle and overt. On the good side is Bauman’s story, which gradually gets deeper as more is revealed about his past, especially the premature death of his mother. Bauman’s trauma over her loss influences his thinking and actions, and a possible connection between his current situation and his personal history broadens the scope of the plot.

There is plenty of creepiness to be found in the film, starting with the dark and decrepit nature of the hotel itself. Any building where a particular room is off-limits naturally inspires intrigue, and McCarthy does a solid job of building tension. That’s why it’s strange and disappointing that he gives in to the lamest of horror tropes - a sudden appearance by an odd-looking person accompanied by a big screeching noise - on multiple occasions.

The film is at its best when it features weird moments that are never or only slightly explained. A dead body in a rabbit suit is echoed by the unexplained broadcast from Bauman’s youth featuring a terrifying TV host with bulging eyes and rabbit ears. Bauman’s explorations take him into the hotel’s basement via a dumbwaiter, where he encounters all manner of strange things, including what seem to be witches. Because most of these things are left to the audience’s imagination, they hit harder in the moment.

Scott is known to be understated in his acting, and that skill works well in this particular role. Although he clearly plays Bauman as freaked out, he never indicates panic, and that level-headedness makes his character someone you want to follow no matter how dark the path might be. The mostly-Irish supporting cast is not well-known, but Wilmot and Florence Ordesh make the most of their short time on screen.

Hokum - a title that is also not explained - is a horror film that earns its bona fides through mood more than action. Even though not much of consequence happens throughout the film, it still keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next.

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Hokum is now playing in theaters.

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