Event Planner

Backstreet Boys headline the best weekend events in Dallas

Believe it or not, Labor Day weekend is upon us, which means it's time for football season and hopefully the start of cooler temperatures. But the Dallas weekend event scene is still hot, with the Backstreet Boys and a huge conference featuring none other than Oprah leading the way.

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

Thursday, August 29

2013 MegaFest
Bishop T.D. Jakes is the leader of Dallas megachurch The Potter's House, which boast some 30,000 members. But that only hints at the size of the appropriately named MegaFest. Taking place mostly at Dallas Convention Center Thursday through Saturday, it's a religious-themed event filled with motivational speakers, music, comedy, movies and more. It contains offshoots like the International Faith & Family Film Festival and the Women of Purpose Concert on Saturday at American Airlines Center, which features Jennifer Hudson, Babyface and other bold-faced names.

2013 MegaFest: T.D. Jakes Presents Oprah's Life Class
But the biggest name of all, even bigger than Jakes himself, is Oprah Winfrey, who puts on two of her Life Classes at American Airlines Center. Many have come to trust Oprah on a variety of topics — not because she knows all, but because she surrounds herself with people like Jakes who impart expert wisdom.

Friday, August 30

Tiger Fan Jam with The Molly Ringwalds, Geaux DJ and special guests
With the Cowboys Classic pitting LSU against TCU set for Saturday at AT&T Stadium, LSU fans can descend on the South Side Ballroom to get the party started early. English '80s cover band The Molly Ringwalds headline the event, and other entertainment is sure to please any Louisianian. Horned Frog fans aren't forbidden, but it says something that this event is in Dallas and not Fort Worth.

2013 Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Every Labor Day weekend, the City of Bedford takes time out to celebrate two things that just seem to go well together: barbecue and blues music. Expect barbecue competitions galore all weekend long, and blues legends like Buddy Guy and Jimmie Vaughan headline the slate of concerts set to take place on two stages over the three-day event.

Backstreet Boys in concert with Jesse McCartney and DJ Pauly D
As the over-hyped "reunion" of 'N Sync at the MTV Video Music Awards show, people still can't get enough of '90s boy bands. The Backstreet Boys bring the summer of the boy band to a close with this concert at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie. They are joined by one-man boy band Jesse McCartney and, of all people, DJ Pauly D of Jersey Shore fame.

Saturday, August 31

Steely Dan in concert
Steely Dan may sound like the name of one hard-nosed rocker, but it's actually the moniker taken on by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen when they started the band in the early '70s. After the usual ups-and-downs of a band, Becker and Fagen are all that remain, and they play selections from their 40-year history at this concert at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Somebody's Darling in concert with Quaker City Night Hawks and Goodnight Ned
With all the out-of-town acts performing, it can be easy to forget that there are tons of local bands that deserve some attention. One such concert takes place at the Granada Theater, where you can enjoy a night of roots rock with Dallas' Somebody's Darling, Fort Worth's Quaker City Night Hawks and Dallas' Goodnight Ned.

Sunday, September 1

Alamo Drafthouse presents Master Pancake Theater: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
With the opening now a few weeks behind us, it can be easy to forget that Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson offers unique, cool things pretty much every night of the week. The latest is the importing of Austin's Master Pancake Theater, which rightfully mocks the penultimate film in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, Part 1, in two separate screenings.

The Cult in concert
English band The Cult is aptly named. Even though they gained modest fame in the '80s and early '90s, they never truly broke out of their cult band status. Their 1987 album, Electric, is viewed as a rock classic, and on their latest tour, which stops at House of Blues Dallas Sunday night, they play it in its entirety.

The Backstreet Boys play songs from their new album at their show at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on August 30.

Photo courtesy of Backstreet Boys

The Backstreet Boys play songs from their new album at their show at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on August 30.

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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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