Weekend Event Planner

These are the 14 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's an extraordinarily busy weekend around Dallas, with multiple worthy events not making the cut. Those that did include a quartet of big-name comedy shows, two new local theater productions and one new local opera production, an appearance by a best-selling author, a music festival, an air show, a fantastic magician, a huge country band, and more.

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, October 24

DMA Arts & Letters Live: John Grisham
The Guardians, John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, delivers pulse-pounding suspense coupled with some of his most inventive twists and turns yet. It centers on Quincy Miller, a young black man wrongfully convicted of killing his lawyer, and Cullen Post, a lawyer for an innocence group who is determined to get Miller free. Grisham will be in conversation with author and lawyer Talmage Boston at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson.

WaterTower Theatre presents Sister Act
After witnessing a murder, disco diva Deloris Van Cartier is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't be found: a convent. Finding herself at odds with a rigid lifestyle and the uptight Mother Superior, Deloris uses her unique flair and singing talent to inspire the choir, breathing new life into the church and community. The musical will play at WaterTower Theatre in Addison through November 10.

Friday, October 25

Commemorative Air Force presents Wings Over Dallas WWII Airshow
Wings Over Dallas, taking place at Dallas Executive Airport through Sunday, features spectacular flying demonstrations, battle re-enactments, World War II veteran appearances, living history encampments, hands-on family activities, aircraft rides, cockpit tours, and more. This year’s show will include a re-enactment of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a fiery show featuring pyrotechnic effects, and replica Japanese aircraft in air battle re-enactments with American fighters.

97.1 Freakers' Ball featuring Marilyn Manson, Bush, Bad Wolves, Filter, 10 Years, and Blacktop Mojo
It's the Halloween season, so there's no better time for the annual 97.1 Freakers' Ball, which features one of the freakier headliners you'll run across. This year's edition, taking place at Dos Equis Pavilion in one of the final events for the year at the venue, will feature performances by Marilyn Manson, Bush, Bad Wolves, Filter, 10 Years, and Blacktop Mojo.

Nate Bargatze: Good Problem to Have Tour
Comedian Nate Bargatze will be the first out of the gate in a comedy-heavy weekend in Dallas. The 40-year-old Bargatze has just started making it big in the 2010s, releasing the acclaimed album Yelled Out by a Clown in 2014 and making numerous late night appearances. He released his latest stand-up comedy special, The Tennessee Kid, on Netflix earlier this year. He'll play two separate sets at Majestic Theatre.

The Dallas Opera presents The Golden Cockerel
Following the opening of their season last weekend with The Magic Flute, the Dallas Opera will move quickly into their second production, The Golden Cockerel, an opera that has not appeared on their stage since 1973. The tart-tongued comedy centers on the lazy King Dodon, who is gifted a golden cockerel that sounds the alarm whenever danger is near, something that can't save him from a voluptuous young queen, who unashamedly displays her charms. The production will play four times through November 2 at Winspear Opera House.

Improv Addison presents Jay Mohr
From performing stand-up comedy at the age of 16, landing his dream job on Saturday Night Live, launching his career with Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, appearing in over 200 episodes of network television and over 25 feature films alongside a plethora of Academy Award-winning actors, and hosting his own sports podcast, Jay Mohr has become a multi-media star. He'll perform stand up five times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Saturday, October 26

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Sightings: Anne Le Troter opening day
As part of the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Sightings series of smaller-scale exhibitions and installations that highlight new work of emerging or established artists, Anne Le Troter is developing a sound piece based on her research on fertility tourism and the history of sperm banks in the U.S., where the lack of governmental regulation has resulted in the rise of so-called “designer babies." The exhibition will be on display through February 2, 2020.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Piff the Magic Dragon
After earning national acclaim as the standout star of NBC’s America’s Got Talent and Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Piff The Magic Dragon continues to win over audiences across the globe with his mixture of wizardry, wit, and sarcasm in a one-of-a-kind comedy magic show. Joined by his trusty sidekick Mr Piffles, The World’s Only Magic Performing Chihuahua, he'll perform two separate sets at Wyly Theatre.

Majestic Theatre presents Shin Lim
Magician Shin Lim was crowned the winner in the finals of America's Got Talent: The Champions after a jaw-dropping and mind-bending performance. Shin Lim performs carefully self-choreographed routines that combine dexterity, precision, and grace, featuring mind-boggling finger moves that are so masterful, the audience is left to wonder if what they have seen is truly possible. He'll perform three times through Sunday at Majestic Theatre.

Zac Brown Band in concert
Since they won the Best New Artist Grammy in 2010, Zac Brown Band has been one of the biggest acts in country music. They've hit No. 1 on the country charts on each of their subsequent five albums, including the recently released The Owl, and have become a mainstay at the industry's various awards shows. They'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion, with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real as opening act.

Dane Cook: Tell It Like It Is
Combining energetic physical comedy, clever wordplay, and trenchant observations about human behavior, Dane Cook's unique brand of stand-up and accessible guy-next-door attitude have galvanized audiences of all ages. Cook's popularity has ebbed and flowed over the course of his career, and this marks his first nationwide tour in six years. He'll perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Ochre House Theater presents Razz
Ochre House Theater presents its 2019/2020 season opener, Razz, written by Ochre House Theater company member, Mitchell Parrack. The production, running through November 16, follows the life of Bob Fosse, who finds himself fighting for life after his third heart attack. Wrapped in song, dance, vaudeville, and spectacle, Razz explores how artists survive in a fickle world.

Sunday, October 27

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Dior: From Paris to the World" closing day
Sunday is the final day to view "Dior: From Paris to the World" at the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibition, which surveys more than 70 years of the House of Dior’s legacy and global influence, features a selection of more than 100 haute couture dresses, as well as accessories, photographs, original sketches, runway videos, and other archival material. The DMA is one of only two U.S. venues to host the exhibition.

The Dallas Opera will present The Golden Cockerel at Winspear Opera House, October 25-November 2.

Photo courtesy of The Dallas Opera

The Dallas Opera will present The Golden Cockerel at Winspear Opera House, October 25-November 2.

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Charged up

Magical Plano Elf Town to compete on ABC's Great Christmas Light Fight

Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight

Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

David and Melissa Loder's Elf Town is in on Pembroke Court in the Deerfield subdivision of Plano.

A family from one of Dallas-Fort Worth's most famous Christmas-light neighborhoods is stepping into the national spotlight: Melissa and David Loder, who present a spectacular "Elf Town" display in Plano's Deerfield subdivision, will compete on ABC's holiday competition show The Great Christmas Light Fight on Thursday, December 18.

The Loders will be one of three U.S. families battling for a trophy, $50,000, and major holiday-light bragging rights; co-host Taniya Nayak is the judge.

Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

David and Melissa Loder's Elf Town is in on Penbrook Court in the Deerfield subdivision of Plano.

The episode will air at 9 pm (CDT) on ABC stations, but unfortunately for local viewers, WFAA will pre-empt it for the Dallas Mavericks basketball game. Light Fight will stream on WFAA+ channel 8.2 at 9 pm and later on WFAA / Channel 8 at 3:11 am. It will be available to stream on Hulu beginning Friday, December 19.

"[Filming the show] was surreal at times, but we also knew we had created something special with Elf Town," says Melissa Loder.

Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight The Elf Town Depot, with mayor Elfus standing guard.Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

Exploring Elf Town
The Loders, who moved to Deerfield in 2008, have been creating and evolving Elf Town since 2011. They use it as a platform to raise money for the Susan G Komen Foundation, an organization especially dear to Melissa, a breast cancer survivor.

They call Elf Town "a place where holiday elves live, work, and play."

"Like any town, we have a Main Street with a school, shopping, a bakery and a tavern all leading to a mega tree in the town center," Melissa says. "New this year is the Elf Town Museum that has photos of the evolution of Elf Town."

"We also have industry - the toys travel via train, and there is a train depot for the elves to get their tickets and wait for the train," she adds. "We also have an entertainment area with a Ferris wheel and a disco for the elves."

Standing guard over it all is The Mayor of Elf Town, a 20-foot elf named Elfus. And for the show, they created an all-new special feature: Santa's Spa in the backyard - "an area where no elves are allowed," she says.

David and Melissa, who call themselves the "head elves" of Elf Town, work all year on their DIY display. "Woodworking, welding, painting, design and installation," they say, "are all done on site by our little band of elves," which include their daughter and son-in-law Alex and Joel Loper and their grandsons, Kade (8) and Tristan (5); nieces and nephews Sophie Polma (25), Maxine Polma (23), Beckett Polma (21), and identical twins Marlowe Polma and Julian Polma (19).

"We also have amazing friends who materialize when we are putting up and taking down the display," they say. "Additionally, friends Roger and Rita Reynolds made guest appearances [on the show] as a famous couple from the North Pole."

Getting on the show
The Loders light their display up nightly for the public each holiday season. They were "discovered" by The Great Christmas Light Fight when a casting producer tracked them from a stranger’s TikTok video in spring 2022.

Dallas-Fort Worth is a popular location for the show. The Loders now join the ranks of other Light Fight-famous homes, including the Burkman Holiday Home of Frisco (2021); the Ward family of Sky Elements Drone Shows in Keller (2023); the Hugheses' "Stay in the Light" in Rockwall (2024); the Joules-Cornettis' "Gift of Light" in McKinney (2024); and the Mach Christmas Display in Ennis (2024).

"Of course we had seen the show from its first season, but since our focus is less about just lights and more about creating a magical world, we didn’t think we were a fit," Melissa says.

Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight The Loders have been presenting Elf Town since 2011.Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

They shot an audition video in 2023 and soon found out they made the cut. The show filmed at their house over three days in November 2024.

"The process was three very long days of filming with a very sharp learning curve," Melissa says. "Our on-site producer was an amazing asset in the process. Her tips and tricks helped us all embrace the process, relax in front of the cameras, and hopefully come off well in the show; it was a whirlwind but so much fun.

"I think the best part of filming was getting to learn so much about another industry that was so foreign to us. I am a clinical psychologist in private practice, and David is in sales with Porsche Plano, so we aren’t 'performers.'"

Fighting on
The Loders can't reveal whether they won the Great Christmas Light Fight, of course. (They'll be watching Thursday at a big party at Legacy Social Room.) But they can say with certainty that their display will continue to aid in the fight against breast cancer.

"We participate in the 3 Day 60 Mile walk each year and the money donated goes to our 3 Day fundraising accounts," Melissa says. "Collectively, our little family of elves have raised over $180,000 to help fund vital cancer research and contribute to patient care and advocacy."

Elf Town will light up daily from 5:30 pm to midnight through New Year's Eve 2025, with special nights offering hot cocoa, candy canes, or photos with Santa. While it's free to view and experience, visitors are invited to donate via fundraising links on their Facebook page and through Melissa's Susan G. Komen 3 Day fundraising page.

"I think the most important part of our display is that David and I do this together as a hobby and a gift to the community," she says. "We love that we were able to do The Great Christmas Light Fight, but our true motivation for the time, energy, and money that we pour into the display comes from the stories we hear year after year of families who count on us to be part of their tradition."

She says those include visitors finding the display as solace in hard times, along with marriage proposals, baby's first visit with Santa, and more.

"We have even been brought to our knees by a woman who brought her infant daughter and took photos all around the display because she had a terminal cancer diagnosis and wanted her daughter to have 'magical' pictures with her so 'when she was an angel,' her daughter 'will know I believed in magic,'" Melissa says. "All of these stories and so many more are part of the legacy of Elf Town. These are our 'why' to the question we are often asked 'Why would you do this?'"

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The Great Christmas Light Fight will air at 9 pm December 18 on ABC and will stream December 19 on Hulu. Find Elf Town at 4641 Penbrook Ct., in the Deerfield subdivision of Plano. It's open nightly, 5:30 pm-midnight, through December 31. Follow the Elf Town Facebook page for updates. Visitors are encouraged to park on a less busy street, or at the elementary school off Quincy, and walk through the neighborhood.

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