Weekend Event Planner

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

While a few Dallas holiday events have already started, this is the weekend when things kick into high gear. In addition to three big new holiday events, there's a major art fair, three new theater productions, great stand-up and improv comedy, a revolutionary breakdance group, and a symphonic Veterans Day celebration (preceded by a slew of deals and discounts being offered to veterans).

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

Thursday, November 11

‘Neath the Wreath Holiday Gift Market
‘Neath the Wreath Holiday Gift Market, hosted by the Junior League of Collin County, spans over four days and features over 130 merchants with unique holiday and home décor, clothing and accessories, gifts, jewelry, children’s items, gourmet food, and more. The event, taking place at Delta Hotels by Marriott Dallas Allen through Sunday, raises funds for educational and community projects and programs.

Dallas Art Fair
The Dallas Art Fair offers collectors, arts professionals, and the public the opportunity to engage with a rich selection of modern and contemporary artworks presented by leading global and local galleries. The fair, taking place at Fashion Industry Gallery, starts with the Collector Preview for Patron Pass Plus holders on Thursday, followed by main event, taking place Friday through Sunday.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Holiday at the Arboretum
Holiday at the Arboretum has a new treasure to get visitors in the holiday spirit: the Dazzling Musical Tree, a 50-foot-tall tree animated with more than 42,000 lights that also plays merry holiday tunes. The holiday festival, taking place at the Dallas Arboretum through December 31, also features The Christmas Village, DeGolyer House with The Artistry of the Nativity, and The 12 Days of Christmas.

Rover Dramawerks presents Kosher Lutherans
Rover Dramawerks concludes their 21st season with the comedy Kosher Lutherans by William Missouri Downs. Hanna and Franklyn desperately want to have a child of their own. They meet a young, naïve, pregnant girl from Iowa who offers to let them adopt her out-of-wedlock baby. Just before the adoption papers are signed, they discover she doesn’t know they’re Jewish. In a desperate attempt not to blow the deal, the couple decide to pose as Lutherans to appeal to the girl's apparent Midwestern sensibilities. The production will run through November 20 at Cox Building Playhouse in Plano.

Friday, November 12

Eisemann Center presents Menopause The Musical
Menopause The Musical is a celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived "The Change." Set in a department store, four women meet while shopping for a black lace bra at a lingerie sale. After noticing similarities among one another, the cast jokes about their woeful hot flashes, mood swings, wrinkles, weight gain, and much more. The production will have three performances through Saturday at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Patriotic Pops Veterans Day Celebration
Dallas Symphony Orchestra will highlight conductor Jeff Tyzik as part of this uplifting tribute honoring the nation’s men and women in uniform. Patriotic Pops salutes veterans with favorite songs and anthems, and the U.S. Naval Academy will share their internationally acclaimed Glee clubs and their Pipes and Drum Band with Dallas. The concert will have three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

45th Annual Lakewood Home Festival
The 45th Annual Lakewood Home Festival will feature six beautiful homes in the Lakewood area. After the Auction Party on Friday, the festival will take place between 11 am and 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Visitors can also participate in The Candlelight Tour on Saturday from 7-9 pm, which offers an intimate setting for guests to sip wine and meet the homeowners. Candlelight Tour tickets include access to the daytime Home Tour, as well.

LIT AF Tour featuring Martin Lawrence
The LIT AF Tour, hosted by Martin Lawrence, will feature performances by some of the top Black comedians touring today. Performers at the event, taking place at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie, will include Rickey Smiley, Hannibal Buress, Donnell Rawlings, DeRay Davis, B. Simone, and Clayton Thomas.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Rubberband: Ever So Slightly
Founded in 2002 by Victor Quijada, Rubberband has not only redefined breakdance, but it has also opened the way for new creators fascinated by this dance form. Athletic, exciting and inventive, the evening-length work, Ever So Slightly, explores behavioral mechanisms and the reflexes we develop every day dealing with the world around us. There will be one performance Friday and one Saturday at Moody Performance Hall.

Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience
Potted Potter takes on the ultimate challenge of condensing all seven Harry Potter books into 70 hilarious minutes. The show, which will have three performances through Saturday at Coppell Arts Center, features all the favorite characters, a special appearance from a fire-breathing dragon, endless costumes, brilliant songs, ridiculous props, and a generous helping of Hogwarts magic.

Saturday, November 13

The Trains at NorthPark
The Trains at NorthPark is the largest miniature train exhibit in Texas with more than 750 railcars. Visitors to the exhibit will experience watching the trains circle 1,600 feet of tracks rolling from coast to coast on a whimsical journey across the United States. The trains travel from the fall foliage of New England to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge with stops along the way in New York, Arizona, Colorado, and more. The exhibit will be open through January 2, 2022 at NorthPark Center.

Whose Live Anyway?
Whose Live Anyway? is 90 minutes of hilarious improvised comedy and song all based on audience suggestions. Cast members Jeff B. Davis, Joel Murray, Ryan Stiles, and Greg Proops put on witty scenes they invent before the audience's eyes. The show, taking place at Majestic Theatre, showcases some of the improv games made famous on the long-running TV show as well as some exciting new ones.

Sunday, November 14

Chvrches in concert
The Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches may seem to have a unpronounceable name (it's actually just a stylized u, not a v), but they've risen above their unique name to deliver some great music. Since their debut, they've released four albums, including the just-released Screen Violence, that have yielded a number of hits like "Leave a Trace" and "Get Out." They'll play at South Side Ballroom.

Holiday at the Arboretum will be at the Dallas Arboretum through January 2, 2022.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Arboretum

Holiday at the Arboretum will be at the Dallas Arboretum through January 2, 2022.

event-planner theater concerts holidays

Coffee News

Black Sheep Coffee from the U.K. comes to U.S. with debut in Dallas

Black Sheep Coffee

Black Sheep Coffee, coming from the U.K.

A coffee shop from the U.K. with celebrity ties is opening its first U.S. location in Dallas. Called Black Sheep Coffee, it's a growing chain based in London with a renegade stance: to champion the robusta coffee bean, one overlooked by most coffee snobs.

Black Sheep was founded in London in 2013 by friends Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth, who loved coffee and wanted to start their own business. They've built it into a chain with 60-plus locations including cafés and take-out shops across England, Scotland, Wales, France, and the Philippines.

The Dallas shop will open at 6240 E. Mockingbird Ln., in a shopping center in the Lakewood neighborhood. Shohet says it'll open in late spring.

Dallas came onto their radar after they formed a partnership for the U.S. expansion with Kristaps Porzingis, a professional basketball player who was playing for the Dallas Mavericks. He's since been traded to the Washington Wizards, but Shohet says Dallas still seemed like the perfect place to launch.

"I love Texas, it's a great state and a lot of people are moving there," Shohet says. "There's so much growth and Dallas has a good vibe. Kristaps became a good friend and ended up investing. He moved to Washington but we'd gotten this great location on Mockingbird and we're building a local team."

They'll make Dallas their headquarters, with a plan to open another half dozen locations, plus franchise opportunities as well (email franchising@leavetheherdbehind.com).

One of the non-coffee drinks at Black Sheep Coffee is a peanut-butter hot chocolate.Black Sheep Coffee

Shohet and Holth built the company brick by brick, starting out doing pop-ups before moving into brick-and-mortar locations. Their goal is to break the wall between specialty coffee and the mass market.

"We've always been about the coffee," he says. "We source the beans from plantations in southern India, Papua New Guinea, Brazil. We get the best beans in the world: specialty-grade, shade-grown, and hand-picked."

"But our premise was also, How can we bring great quality coffee to the mass market, by providing the best coffee but not making people feel like they're disturbing the coffee sacks?" he says. "Our baristas know their coffee, but if you just want to get your drink quickly and want caramel syrup, then go for it. We make it inclusive."

Their most radical act is their use exclusively of the robusta bean, whose stronger, less delicate flavor profile has seen it relegated to uses such as instant coffee and pre-ground cans, while arabica has been the bean favored by the discerning coffee crowd. But some roasters have begun to reject the narrative that robusta is inferior to arabica.

"We're the only coffee company in the world to focus 100 percent on specialty robusta," he says. "Everybody is always touting arabica, but if you can find a great robusta that’s not commercial grade, you have a cool product."

Robusta has twice the amount of caffeine, and he says the growers they work with are more enviro-friendly, requiring less water with more cherries per bush.

"Robusta is thicker and richer, and has an amazing crema when you brew it as espresso," he says. "It's also less acidic, so it's easier to digest on an empty stomach and has more body. It might have less flavor notes than arabica, but that extra body punches through the milk. Robusta is a great bean for drinks made with milk. It's unfair that it has a bad reputation."

Their championing of a bean that others forsake goes with their entire ethos. They also eschew plastic.

"When everybody’s doing something, we do something different," he says. "That’s what our slogan is about: 'Leave the herd behind.'"

In addition to coffee, their shops have exotic lattes, smoothies, and a signature peanut-butter hot chocolate. They do a small selection of food including bagels, "toasties," and Norwegian waffles, a signature.

"But we don't want to be a restaurant — we'll offer the pastries and items that go with coffee, but we just want to focus on making the best coffee."

openings celebrities coffee

Weekend Event Planner

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

Holiday at the Arboretum will be at the Dallas Arboretum through January 2, 2022.

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Coffee News

Black Sheep Coffee from the U.K. comes to U.S. with debut in Dallas

CultureMap Emails Are AwesomeGet Dallas intel delivered daily.

We will not share or sell your email address.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get Dallas intel delivered daily.

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get Dallas intel delivered daily.