Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There's something for everyone going on around Dallas this weekend, including a huge designer clothes sale, concerts featuring big names from the past and present, three new theater productions, a chance to hang out with reality TV celebrities, local viewing opportunities for a unique sports event, and more.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Monday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, August 24

Fashion Industry Gallery presents FIG Finale 2017
At FIG Finale, taking place at Fashion Industry Gallery through Saturday, shoppers can find designer deals up to 75 percent off retail from top stores and brands. FIG Finale features women's, men's and children's clothing, shoes and accessories. The Thursday event requires a VIP ticket, while the Friday and Saturday tickets are open to the public for $5 per day.

100.3 Jack FM presents Lost '80s Live
Children of the 1980s will be in heaven at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie when 100.3 Jack FM presents Lost '80s Live. The concert will feature performances from Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, Cutting Crew, Wang Chung, Naked Eyes, Berlin, The Flirts, Tommy Tutone, Dramarama, and Christopher Anton of Information Society.

Ochre House Theater presents Kaptain Kockadoo
Ochre House Theater will present the world premiere of Kaptain Kockadoo, a new dark musical comedy with original live music from Ochre’s first all-girl band. In the musical, the Kaptain and his crew will navigate the world of children’s television through the eyes of a religious zealot. What would you do to get to heaven? What would the Kaptain do? The production will run through September 9.

Friday, August 25

Cheer 4 Your Life presents It’s A Jungle Out There
Fans of Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and American Ninja Warrior will enjoy this fundraising event, where they can mix and mingle with favorite former players from those shows. The evening at Granada Theater will consist of dinner, open bar, silent and live auction, dancing, and performances from Cheer 4 Your Life teen beneficiaries. The following day, the same players will compete in Warriors Games at Lake Highlands Recreation Center, participating in challenges similar to those seen on Survivor.

Uptown Players presents The Tribute Artist
To close its 16th season, Uptown Players will present the regional premiere of Charles Busch’s The Tribute Artist. An out-of-work female impersonator assumes the role of his elderly landlady after she dies in her sleep in order to hang on to her valuable Greenwich Village townhouse. This "perfect" scheme goes awry and leads to a wild path of twists and reversals plotted by an eccentric rogues' gallery of outrageous schemers. The play will run through September 10 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Saturday, August 26

Soul Rep Theatre presents The Trinity River Plays
Regina Taylor’s Trinity River Plays spans 18 years in the life of Iris and her Oak Cliff matriarchal family. Set in the 1970s through the 1990s, the piece is an interlocking of three emotional one-act plays — Jar Fly, Rain, and Ghost(story). Collectively, they form a searing family drama colored by situations and nuances unique to the Dallas region. There will be two performances on Saturday at Irving Arts Center.

Reunion Tower presents Reunion Lawn Party
The final Reunion Lawn Party of the year includes live music by Petty Theft, featuring Mike Rhyner of Dallas’ “The Ticket,” food trucks, lawn games, and a special Lawn Takeover by the Dallas Mavericks. In addition to the food truck fare, attendees will have an opportunity to purchase a wide selection of domestic and imported beers and wines from the Beer Garden host, The Nodding Donkey.

Lady Antebellum in concert with Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young
It's been an eventful 10 years for country trio Lady Antebellum. Each of their six albums, including their new album, Heart Break, has reached the top 5 in both the Billboard Top 200 and Country charts. They've also had a string of No. 1 hits and are a staple at the multitude of country music award shows. They will be joined at this concert at Starplex Pavilion by opening acts Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young.

The Piano Guys in concert
The Piano Guys are four dads who became a sensation thanks to their original self-made music videos, including versions of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen. Their blend of classical music with pop has made them an Internet phenomenon, with over 500 million YouTube views. They'll play at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor
It may be more of a spectacle than a true boxing match, but that doesn't make the matchup between boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor any less interesting. There are plenty of watch parties around town for the event taking place in Las Vegas, but you can watch it best on the big screen at most area Cinemark theaters and the AMC Mesquite 30.

Mary J. Blige in concert with Lalah Hathaway
Over the past 25 years, Mary J. Blige has established herself as the grande dame of R&B/hip hop music. She's worked with virtually every big name in her genre, including Nas, Lil' Kim, Ja Rule, Method Man, Eve, 50 Cent, Drake, Diddy, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. She'll play at the Music Hall at Fair Park in support of her new album, Strength of a Woman. The opening act will be Lalah Hathaway.

Sunday, August 27

Foundation45 presents Deep Ellum Water Balloon Wars
With temperatures still hovering near 90 degrees, we'll take any excuse we can to cool down. You'll have plenty of opportunities to get doused with water at the Deep Ellum Water Balloon Wars, an adults-only event taking place behind Trees. It will feature water balloon battles, water slides, dunk tanks, music, food, and drinks in the heart of Deep Ellum. Attendees must at least 18 years old.

Lady Antebellum will play at Starplex Pavilion on August 26.

Photo by Eric Ray Davidson Photography

Lady Antebellum will play at Starplex Pavilion on August 26.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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