Weekend Event Planner

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

This weekend offers events both big and small. On the larger side are an Oktoberfest celebration, a fandom convention, several big concerts, and a well-known comedian. You can go more intimate with several local theater productions, a symphony performance, and a dance production. Also, fall will be on full display at one of the area's best nature venues.

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

Thursday, September 16

Addison Oktoberfest
Addison Oktoberfest features four days of family-oriented entertainment, including German entertainers in authentic costumes performing traditional Bavarian folk dances, schuhplatten, oompah music, sing-a-longs, yodels and more. A special “Oktoberfest” Paulaner Bier is served along with several types of German sausage, sauerkraut, strudel, giant pretzels and more. There are carnival rides, midway games, and children’s entertainment. The event takes place through Sunday at Addison Circle Park. (For more local Oktoberfests, go here.)

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Copland & Brahms"
Featuring resident organist Bradley Hunter Welch under the direction of Fabio Luisi, this concert will feature selections including Frederick Converse's The Mystic Trumpeter, Aaron Copland's Organ Symphony, and Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1. The concert will take place at the Meyerson Symphony Center through Sunday.

Undermain Theatre presents Stronger Than Arms
Undermain Theatre will present the newest work by the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, Stronger Than Arms, a new adaptation of the classic Greek play Seven Against Thebes by Danielle Georgiou and Justin Locklear. The production will dive into the spiritual and political burdens placed on the chorus of Theban citizens, and the story points to the power of humanity’s worst enemy, unconquerable fear, and reveals that there could be something stronger — the willingness to change. Following the live performances of the show, running through October 2, the production will be available to stream at any time, October 3-17.

Flexible Grey Theatre Company presents Bridges: Sisters of Salem
Bridges: Sisters of Salem is the third iteration of Flexible Grey’s interview play series, Bridges. Sisters of Salem will focus on women in power and how opinions could sometimes lead to being burned at the stake, sharing stories from modern day women in power and comparing their stories to past women who were persecuted for using their own voice. This production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, will run through Saturday at Sammons Park.

Friday, September 17

Fan Expo Dallas
The largest comic, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming event in Texas continues their tradition of bringing some of Hollywood’s biggest names to the Lone Star State at the 19th Annual Fan Expo Dallas. Celebrity guests will include Zachary Quinto, Zachary Levi, William Shatner, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Carl Weathers, Ray Fisher, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Ron Perlman, and more. The convention takes place through Sunday at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Counting Crows in concert
Some bands take time to build up their fan base, and some get shot out of a cannon. Counting Crows belongs in the latter category, blasting off with their first two albums in 1993 and 1996, which featured such hits as "Mr. Jones," "Round Here," and "A Long December." It's been seven years since they've released new music, but they'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in support of their new EP, Butter Miracle, Suite One.

Kings of Leon in concert with Cold War Kids
Tennessee rockers Kings of Leon are the opposite of Counting Crows, barely making a dent with their first three albums before shooting up to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 charts with 2008's Only by the Night. Strangely, despite their popularity, it took them another three albums to reach No. 1 with 2016's Walls. They'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion in support of their new album, When You See Yourself, joined by opening act Cold War Kids.

Echo Theatre presents It's My Party!
Based on real historical figures, It's My Party! delves into the turbulent backstory of the fight to pass the 19th Amendment. Facing an uphill battle in Washington, young suffragists employed increasingly radical tactics to make their voices heard, leading to bitter rivalries and a generational split that threatened to tear the suffragists’ movement apart from the inside. The production runs through October 9 at Bath House Cultural Center.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Momix: Alice
In timely fashion, TITAS/Dance Unbound will start their season walking through the Looking Glass. MOMIX, celebrating their 40th Anniversary, brings their fantastical Alice to Dallas. MOMIX director Moses Pendleton’s latest work takes the audience on a fun adventure with Lewis Carroll’s most beloved character, Alice. The production will play on Friday and Saturday at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, September 18

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Autumn at the Arboretum
The 16th annual Autumn at the Arboretum returns with more than 90,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash throughout the garden. New this year is the location of the nationally acclaimed Pumpkin Village, behind the Jonsson Color Garden, transformed into the theme "Bugtopia." The signature display comes alive with larger-than-life insect topiaries, bugged-out pumpkin houses, and a maze for younger visitors. The event will take place through October 31.

Whiskey Myers in concert
Texas band Whiskey Myers is five albums deep into their career and just starting to hit their stride. Each of their successive albums has made it higher on Billboard Country charts than the last, culminating with 2019's self-titled album, which went all the way to No. 1. The southern rock/country band will play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, with support from Bones Owens and Kolby Cooper.

Iliza Shlesinger: The Back in Action Tour
Iliza Shlesinger, a Dallas-raised comedian, is the only female and youngest person to hold the title of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Shlesinger has five Netflix specials to her credit, including 2019's Unveiled. In recent years she's been in demand as an actress, starring in such films as Instant Family, Pieces of a Woman, and Good on Paper. She'll perform at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Autumn at the Arboretum runs September 18-October 31 at the Dallas Arboretum.

Photo by Dallas Arboretum

Autumn at the Arboretum runs September 18-October 31 at the Dallas Arboretum.

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Movie Review

The Dink aces pickleball with funny, star-filled comedy

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in The Dink.

While the sport of pickleball was invented way back in the 1960s, it has exploded in popularity in the 2020s. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to make a movie about the craze, and a comedy like the new Apple TV+ film The Dink provides the best way to honor and make fun of the divisive sport at the same time.

Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), aka The Hammer, is a former tennis phenom who’s now working as an instructor at a club owned by his dad, Chuck (Ed Harris). While the two don’t always see eye-to-eye, they have a mutual hatred for pickleball, which they have begrudgingly allowed on the property by giving it the worst court.

Dusty is hoping to stop all future pickleball expansion by winning a one-on-one grudge match, but when he injures his wrist, he’s given a prescription of pickleball as a form of rehab. Older women like Candace (Mary Steenburgen) are the only people he can find to play with, and despite his disdain for the sport, he soon falls prey to its low-key charms.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) and written by Sean Clements, the film is probably the best advertisement pickleball will ever have. Dusty’s introduction to the sport serves as a lighthearted tutorial for the uninitiated while still getting in some nice digs at its expense. The other players - Candace, Gail (Cleo King), and Judy (Lynn Marie Stewart) - are equally welcoming and critical of Dusty, who initially has trouble adjusting to the game’s different rules.

The film’s approach to the story is silly but never stupid. Dusty is a blowhard, but he’s also able to admit when he’s wrong, especially when Candace introduces him to multiple things he had never considered before. A long-standing feud between Dusty and Andy Roddick provides more than just a goofy cameo for the real-life tennis star. The film also pushes right to the edge of being over-the-top before pulling back, allowing it to keep a semblance of reality to it.

Clements’ story follows a tried-and-true formula, making the film very predictable but enjoyably so. Where it earns its comedy credentials is in its finer details, like Dusty’s love for his 1999 Buick LeSabre with under 200,000 miles on it, his trunk full of old VHS tapes, or his interactions with his assistant PJ (Aaron Chen), who manages to be the comic relief in an already funny film.

Johnson, probably best known for starring in the sitcom New Girl in the 2010s, has the right amount of smarm and niceness to pull off the role, letting viewers laugh at and root for him at the same time. The film is full of comedy all-stars in small roles like Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Ben Stiller, but Harris steals everyone’s thunder. The line readings by the four-time Oscar nominee give an extra punch to his character’s jokes, especially one that hints at the sordid history of the tennis club.

It’s a shame that The Dink is only playing on a streaming service as there’s a dearth of good comedies like this in movie theaters. With a solid joke-telling approach, a respect for its subject matter, and a cast who all play off each other well, this is a film that deserves to be seen by more than just those with an Apple TV+ subscription.

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The Dink is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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