Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's Halloween weekend, but that doesn't mean you have to be constrained by spooky events. There are plenty of other things going on, including several big-name concerts, a new air show, a new opera production, one of the last outdoor festivals of the year, and more. By the way, if you are looking for the best Halloween weekend events around Dallas-Fort Worth, you can check them out here.

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, October 27

Decks in the Park - Halloween Edition
Costumes are highly encouraged at Decks in the Park's annual Halloween Bash. In addition to music from more than seven DJs, guests get a sneak preview of the Red Bull Flying Bach show coming to the Majestic Theatre in January. There's also an after-party at the Foundation Room for those who want to keep the party going.

Celtic Thunder in concert
The new show from international megastars Celtic Thunder, Legacy, celebrates the influence of Irish and Celtic music around the world. It features a mix of lively, fast-paced, and upbeat songs, including “A Place in The Choir,” “Galway Girl,” and “Raggle Taggle Gypsy,” and slower classic ballads like “Danny Boy” and “Noreen." The concert takes place at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Friday, October 28

Commemorative Air Force presents 2016 Wings Over Dallas WWII Airshow
The inaugural Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas WWII Airshow commemorates the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and features Tora! Tora! Tora!, an award-winning re-creation of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Dozens of other WWII-era aircraft are being exhibited on the ramp and in the air throughout the event. The show takes place at Dallas Executive Airport through Sunday.

Dallas Symphony Pops Series: Disney's Fantasia Live in concert
If you've never seen Disney’s classic movie, Fantasia (or even if you've seen it a 100 times), seeing it with live symphony accompaniment makes it feel completely different. The Fantasia concerts, presented four times through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center, include works from the original 1940 film as well as selections from Fantasia 2000.

Dallas Opera presents Eugene Onegin
Set in late 19th century Russia, innocence and passion collide in the Dallas Opera's latest, Eugene Onegin. After the aristocratic and arrogant Onegin rejects a country girl's advances, the roles are reversed many years later when the two meet again at a royal ball. The opera plays four times at Winspear Opera House through November 5.

Evanescence in concert
For a band that has only released three official albums, Evanescence have had an outsized impact on the music world. The band, led by Amy Lee, has sold nearly 25 million albums since their 2003 debut, Fallen, featuring the hit, “Bring Me To Life.” They are playing at South Side Ballroom in support of their soon-to-be-released box set.

Saturday, October 29

Frontiers of Flight Museum presents Star Wars Day
Spend the day at Frontiers of Flight Museum on the “dark side” with the 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion “good guys.” The day includes special Star Wars-themed activities, including a red carpet costume contest. Guests get to meet characters from all sci-fi genres, as the Star Wars universe joins forces with the USS Joshua Sci-Fi fan club and the DFW Ghostbusters fan group.

2016 Trinity River Wind Festival
The fifth annual Trinity River Wind Festival, postponed from June, is a day of high-flying outdoor adventure and fun. The event, taking place at the Commerce Street Viaduct, includes the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center and stage show, homing pigeons from Trinity River Audubon Center, Texas Discovery Gardens butterfly display and crafts, performances by kite teams and the Alma y Corazon Tejano Ballet Folklorico, a kid’s fun zone, and more.

The Fray in concert with American Authors
The Fray achieved national success with their 2005 debut album, featuring the hit singles "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life," which went double-platinum. Anybody who buys a ticket for this concert at House of Blues Dallas receives a digital download of The Fray's new Greatest Hits Through the Years. They're joined by American Authors.

Sunday, October 30

Stevie Nicks in concert with The Pretenders
If you weren't lucky enough to catch the reunited Fleetwood Mac when they came to town in 2014, you can now see one of their most prominent members, Stevie Nicks, as she revisits her long and storied career. As if that weren't enough, the opening act for the concert at American Airlines Center is another legendary band, The Pretenders, making this the ultimate two-for-one night.

Stevie Nicks plays at American Airlines Center with The Pretenders on October 30.

Photo courtesy of LiveNation

Stevie Nicks plays at American Airlines Center with The Pretenders on October 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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