Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

With the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday, the rest of the weekend in and around Dallas is relatively light on new events. But there will still be some fun things to do, including three big-name concerts, new local theater, a visit from some favorite TV characters, wrestling from across the Pacific Ocean, and Texas teacher-turned-comedian.

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, July 4

There are plenty of Fourth of July celebrations taking place all over Dallas-Fort Worth. Click here for a roundup of the biggest and best ones.

Friday, July 5

Summer Block Party Festival with Jill Scott, Faith Evans, and Tweet
The entertainment at the Summer Block Party Festival, taking place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, will continue a five-year tradition and commitment to excellence in soul and R&B. Among the performers will be headliner Jill Scott, whose most recent release was 2015's Woman. Other performers will include Faith Evans and Tweet.

Cry Havoc Theater Company presents Sex Ed
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, conversations about sexual impropriety are front and center in our collective consciousness. Yet, we seem to have collective amnesia when it comes to our own teenage years and the lack of honest, accurate information we received about our bodies. Cry Havoc Theater Company's devised work discusses the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees... and how "the talk" has become so politically divisive in our culture. Performances, taking place in Hamon Hall inside Winspear Opera House, will take place through July 14.

Saturday, July 6

Sesame Street Road Trip
Sesame Street will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a stop in Dallas as part of a nationwide tour. The fun, interactive family festival and stage show, taking place at Main Street Garden, will feature a giant maze, a treasure dig, photo opportunities, sweepstakes, a cookies-and-milk snack station, and more.

New Japan Pro Wrestling presents G1 Climax Tournament
New Japan Pro Wrestling will hold the opening night of the 29th annual G1 Climax tournament at American Airlines Center, taking place for the first time ever in the United States. The G1 Climax is the most prestigious tournament in pro wrestling, continuing across Japan until the August 12 finale in Tokyo. The best of NJPW’s roster will be represented in the tournament with around 20 wrestlers participating.

Santana in concert with The Doobie Brothers
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Carlos Santana comes back to Dallas with his band as part of his Supernatural Now tour. The tour commemorates two of the most important milestones in the iconic guitarist’s career: the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking, multiple Grammy-winning album Supernatural and the 50th anniversary of his momentous performance at Woodstock. He will be joined by The Doobie Brothers at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Eddie B: I'm Already Professionally Developed Tour
Houston comedian Eddie B has established himself as the official voice of teachers across the globe, presenting an uncensored, raw, and hysterically realistic portrayal of a teacher’s hectic life, from the point of view of an actual teacher. He'll perform at Winspear Opera House as part of his new tour, I'm Already Professionally Developed.

Young The Giant in concert with Fitz and the Tantrums and COIN
Fans of alternative rock will get a chance to enjoy some of the top bands in the subgenre at this concert at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. Headliner Young The Giant is a California band that has released four albums in its career, including 2018's Mirror Master. They'll be joined by indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums, which just released their new album, All the Feels, and COIN.

Carlos Santana will perform with The Doobie Brothers at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 6.

Photo by Jacob Power

Carlos Santana will perform with The Doobie Brothers at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 6.

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Movie Review

Shaun the Sheep gets PG-spooky in new movie for the Halloween season

Photo courtesy of Aardman / Sky UK LTD / StudioCanal 2026

Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

Since his introduction over 30 years ago, the Aardman Animations character Shaun the Sheep has been almost as popular as the studio’s flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit. There is never a shortage of trouble Shaun can get into as he leads his flock and proves to be a thorn in the side of his farmer and Bitzer, the farmer’s loyal sheepdog.

His antics lead everyone down some slightly spooky roads in the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. At first, things are only slightly awry as Shaun and the flock are growing a secret pumpkin patch to have their own jack-o-lanterns. But when the farmer accidentally destroys the pumpkin patch, Shaun tries to regrow it quickly with a Frankenstein-esque experiment.

However, disaster looms when Shaun uses an old bottle of Hair-Gro as the container for the serum he creates. Naturally, the balding farmer uses it on his head, and everyone soon discovers how truly successful it is, with pumpkins growing out of control and the farmer sprouting hair all over his body. Through a series of mishaps, the farmer becomes the titular beast, creating mayhem while Shaun and others try to stop him.

Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, and written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow, the film goes down just as easy as every other Aardman project has. They get the Halloween vibes started from the opening credits, with things like the sheep doing the “Thriller” dance, and continue the fun throughout, referencing everything from Psycho to Friday the 13th in a nice, PG way.

With no script — every character is mute save for reaction noises — the movie relies on sight gags for its humor, and the Aardman team is endlessly inventive in that respect. Sometimes it’s small things like a sheep using toilet paper rolls as binoculars, and sometimes it’s something like forcing the Bigfoot-like farmer to be shaped into a rectangle as he escapes through a window. But there’s a never-ending stream of such moments, so even if one doesn’t tickle your funny bone, chances are the next one will.

The biggest benefit of the characters not talking is that there’s no need for deep character development. The filmmakers do a great job of giving the basic traits of each character, and then use those attributes to color everyone’s actions for the rest of the film. Shaun is the troublemaker, the farmer is a bumbling fool, Bitzer is preternaturally smart, and the town’s vet is empathetic, and the combination of those characters and others makes for a highly entertaining blend.

Like all Aardman creations, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a fun lark that doesn’t make its audience think too hard. With just enough references to keep viewers engaged but not so many as to be overbearing, the film puts its well-worn characters to good use once again, delivering a Halloween season story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is now playing in theaters.

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