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.

festivals concerts opera dance event-planner

Movie Review

Nordic film Fjord challenges cultural and linguistic biases

Photo courtesy of Neon

undefined

In modern society, where fear of “the other” has made many people into insular creatures, it has become easy to get locked into one point of view. The new film Fjord will be a challenging one for many viewers, as it puts forth a situation that confronts narrow-minded thinking and forces even those who think they’re open-minded to re-evaluate their own biases.

Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and Lisbet (Renate Reinsve) are a married couple who have just moved back to Lisbet’s home country of Norway. They have five children, all of whom were born in Romania, Mihai’s home country. The family, which is part of an unspecified Evangelical Christian sect, runs into issues almost right away when their oldest daughter, Elia (Vanessa Ceban), shows up to school with bruises on her body.

A well-intentioned but perhaps overzealous Child Protective Services system gets put into motion, resulting in the children being removed from the home while Mihai and Lisbet are being investigated. The parents, while acknowledging some minor physical punishment, deny doing anything that would cause bruising, and the possible failings of the system mostly get ignored despite a lack of hard evidence.

Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, the film is an infuriating watch due to its depiction of a system that seems to be oblivious to its own faults. But it’s also illuminating, as the cultural and linguistic divide that exists between the characters in the film could just as easily be applied to those viewing it. Misunderstandings arise as people switch between Norwegian, English, and Romanian, and interpretations of different words or phrases play a crucial role in how people and actions are perceived.

But the film is about much more than just language mix-ups. Mungiu is purposefully vague about Mihai and Lisbet’s religion, but it’s clear that it leans conservative. This puts them at odds with a liberal society in Norway, and more than one character voices their disapproval of the family’s beliefs. The film is framed in such a way, though, that it’s those who are seemingly most progressive who can’t get over their own prejudices, with Mihai and Lisbet rarely being able to object to how they’re being treated.

The cold and forbidding landscape adds to the drama of the film, especially when Mungiu includes side stories from Mihai and Lisbet’s neighbors about, for example, a rebellious neighbor daughter or their ailing father. While those elements don’t impact the plot much, they add complexity to the film as a whole and demonstrate that some characters are more than who they seem to be on the surface.

Stan, who’s had notable roles in recent years in A Different Man and The Apprentice, puts in another solid performance that is less showy. With a bald head and stoic-but-firm demeanor, he brings depth to a potentially unlikable character. Reinsve, coming off the success of Backrooms, is the emotional center of the film and demonstrates chemistry with Stan after co-starring in A Different Man. The supporting cast is all solid, especially the actors portraying lawyers, who bring to life a system that seems much different from that in the U.S.

Fjord does not play out like a typical American film would if it were depicting a similar situation, and by holding back where western storytellers wouldn’t, it allows viewers to make up their own minds on who is right or wrong. Many things go unspoken in the film, and the debate on what should happen with Mihai, Lisbet, and their family continues even after the film ends.

---

Fjord is now playing in select theaters.

movies film fjord