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Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this Halloween weekend

Alex Bentley
Oct 28, 2021 | 6:00 am

Halloween weekend in and around Dallas brings the usual assortment of seasonal events, but it also has a bunch of symphony performances, a quintet of new theatrical productions, a historical airshow, reality TV in real life, great opera singers, world-class magicians, a music festival, and the closing of a significant art exhibition.

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

Thursday, October 28

Dallas Symphony Orchestra events
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will be very busy this weekend, with events in multiple locations. The Concert Truck, a mobile concert stage that brings classical chamber music directly to communities will hit the road again, parking at five locations in four days as the start of a monthlong journey. They will also present Elgar Symphony No. 1, featuring pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and conductor Sir Mark Elder, at Meyerson Symphony Center nightly through Saturday. Finally, they'll present a family-friendly Día de los Muertos Concert at Meyerson Symphony Center on Sunday.

Dallas Theater Center presents The Supreme Leader
Dallas Theater Center will present the world premiere of The Supreme Leader, written by Don X. Nguyen. While in boarding school in Switzerland, Kim Jong-Un learns he’s next in line following his older brother’s career-ending trip to Tokyo Disneyland. Set in the snow globe world of stinky cheese and mountain climbing, this coming-of-age comedy imagines Kim Jong-Un’s final throes of youth before his fateful return to North Korea. The production will run at Kalita Humphreys Theater through November 21.

Sangeet Millennium and Art Nomadic presents Clear Light of the Void
Sangeet Millennium, in collaboration with Art Nomadic and other artists, will present Clear Light of the Void a multidisciplinary, multi-media, multi-linguistic performance installation exploring the notion of a journey through a metaphysical world. Audiences will travel through theatrical portals focused on three distinct but related mystical traditions and enacted through live performances of music, movement, and spoken word recitation. The production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, will take place at Wyly Theatre through Saturday.

Friday, October 29

Commemorative Air Force presents Wings Over Dallas
The Commemorative Air Force’s Wings Over Dallas air show is a World War II-themed event featuring aerial activities and living history re-enactments with more than 30 vintage aircraft and other military vehicles. The air show celebrates the historic aircraft that helped win the war, honors the veterans who flew and maintained these iconic warbirds, and recognizes the vital contributions made by civilians on the home front. It will take place at Dallas Executive Airport through Sunday.

Halloween events
Halloween doesn't often take place on a weekend, so you can expect plenty of people out and about and in a spooky mood. The Dallas-Fort Worth does not have a lack of quality haunted houses and other Halloween-themed events, along with things like a ghost tour, themed-train rides, and more all weekend long.

MasterChef Live!
MasterChef Live! is a high-energy, interactive live stage production that brings the culinary hit TV shows MasterChef & MasterChef Junior directly to fans and foodies alike. The family-friendly show, taking place at Comerica Center in Frisco, will feature head-to-head cooking demonstrations and fun (sometimes messy) challenges with past MasterChef & MasterChef Junior contestants.

The Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition
Classically-trained U.S. singers will compete for industry recognition and the chance to perform on a world-class stage with Maestro Emmanuel Villaume and The Dallas Opera Orchestra, all before a live audience and a panel of judges representing some of the most prestigious opera companies in North America. The event will take place at Winspear Opera House.

Lyric Stage presents The Best of Broadway: A Pops Concert
This jam packed, 100-minute concert celebrates Lyric Stage’s 28 years of developing and preserving the musical by featuring 100 years of music from 28 of Broadway’s most beloved shows. The Best Of Broadway boasts performances by local favorites Keron Jackson, Amy Stevenson, Feleceia Benton Wilson, Mary Gilbreath-Grim, Markus Lloyd, Catherine Carpenter-Cox, Christopher J. Deaton, and rising artists Sadat Hossain and Jéssica Webba. There will be four performances through Sunday at Majestic Theatre.

Teatro Dallas presents The Merit System
Teatro Dallas will present The Merit System, which centers on Ray Rivers, a young Puerto Rican man on the way up. Struggling with the cost of assimilation, he walks a tightrope both at the factory, where he has been recently promoted to management, and with his fiancée. When a recently divorced Cuca joins the assembly line, an unexpected friendship develops and allows him to finally accept the part of himself that he’s long denied. The production will run through November 13 at Latino Cultural Center.

Penn & Teller
For over 45 years Penn & Teller have defied labels, and at times physics and good taste, by redefining the genre of magic and inventing their own very distinct niche in comedy. They currently host the hit series Penn & Teller: Fool Us! for The CW Network, on which up-and-comers and magic veterans try to fool Penn & Teller for a chance to star in the duo’s hit Las Vegas stage show. They'll perform at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Imprint Theatreworks presents We Are Pussy Riot! (Or, Everything is P.R.)
In February 2012, five young women activists, who called themselves Pussy Riot, walked into the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow to protest the illegal presidential election in Russia. We Are Pussy Riot! (Or, Everything is P.R.) weaves together trial transcripts, letters, interviews, media coverage, and statements from celebrities and public officials, to re-imagine the story of Pussy Riot. The production will run at Bath House Cultural Center through November 13.

Saturday, October 30

LaReunion Music Fest
The LaReunion Music Fest celebrates live music from acts in and around Dallas-Fort Worth. It will feature performances by The Suffers, Bob Schneider, Rebirth Brass Band, Sir Woman, and more. The festival, taking place at Dallas Heritage Village on both Saturday and Sunday, will also feature vendors, food, and drinks.

Sunday, October 31

Dallas Museum of Art presents "My|gration" closing day
Originally opening on February 1, 2020, the exhibition "My|gration" will finally come to a close on Sunday at the Dallas Museum of Art. It is an installation of works that traces the migration of people, objects, and ideas in art across times and cultures. Composed of works from the DMA’s collection, "My|gration" highlights the contributions of artists who immigrated to the United States, examines how the movement of people is expressed through art, and illuminates ways cross-cultural connections inform artistic production.

The Wings Over Dallas air show takes place at Dallas Executive Airport, October 29-31.

Wings Over Dallas
Photo courtesy of Commemorative Air Force
The Wings Over Dallas air show takes place at Dallas Executive Airport, October 29-31.
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Movie Review

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

Alex Bentley
Aug 21, 2026 | 11:44 am
Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree
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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