Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

As we approach Christmas Day, the number of new events starts to slow down. There's still plenty to do — but most of it is stuff taking place throughout the holidays. That said, there are several new events this week, including five holiday shows, a Shakespearean reading, and a concert from a legendary singer.

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, December 15

Avant Chamber Ballet presents A Ballet Christmas Carol
For the holiday season, Avant Chamber Ballet premieres a completely new full-length holiday production, A Ballet Christmas Carol. The show, taking place at Dallas City Performance Hall on Thursday and Friday, features the twist of a female Scrooge and the whole story takes place in the dance world: classes, rehearsals, and on stage.

American Aquarium in concert with The O's and Blue Apollo
Alt-country lovers are going to be in heaven at this concert at the Granada Theater. North Carolina band American Aquarium, touring in support of their 2015 album, Wolves, headlines the show. They are supported by Dallas favorite The O's, who just put out a new album, Honeycomb, and up-and-coming Dallas band Blue Apollo.

Friday, December 16

Neiman Marcus presents Lightwire Theater
Neiman Marcus Downtown has partnered with Lightwire Theater to present a unique and interactive window display. Each evening through December 23, Lightwire Theater performs an exclusive mini performance of A Very Electric Christmas in the Neiman Marcus Main Street window. A complete full-length performance of A Very Electric Christmas is being presented at Winspear Opera House on January 1.

Granada Theater presents Ricki Derek's Merry Little Christmas Show
Ricki Derek’s annual Merry Little Christmas show is a little bit Rat Pack with a tinge of Bing Crosby backed up by a big-band orchestra that’s reminiscent of Sinatra’s glory days. The Dallas crooner gets the audience at the Granada Theater in the holiday spirit with his smooth voice and a variety of holiday classics.

Nearly Naked Nutcracker
International burlesque performer Vivienne Vermuth and the cast of Broads and Panties Burlesque present their annual holiday production, Nearly Naked Nutcracker, at Viva's Lounge. The show brings the sexier side of Dallas nightlife to the forefront, featuring top-notch talent from across the country, including a few prima ballerinas to boot.

Saturday, December 17

Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular
Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular is a family holiday event featuring the cast of Cirque Musica together with all-time favorite holiday songs performed by a live orchestra. Taking place at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco, it's a high-flying adventure with acrobats, aerialists, and hilarious hijinks that blends the spell-binding grace and daredevil athleticism of circus performers with the greatest holiday music of all time.

Sunday, December 18

The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Pericles
Shakespeare Dallas and AT&T Performing Arts Center are in the midst of presenting staged readings of every single one of Williams Shakespeare's works over five years. The 34th in the series is Pericles, in which Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is forced to flee his own kingdom and wander the world. His life takes several other dramatic turns as he tries to find a new home. The reading takes place in Hamon Hall inside Winspear Opera House on Sunday and Monday.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in concert
The original Jersey boy himself, Frankie Valli is a true American legend. His incredible career with the Four Seasons, as well as his solo success, has spawned countless hit singles like "Sherry," "Grease,” "Rag Doll," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," and more. He and the Four Seasons play at Winspear Opera House.

Avant Chamber Ballet presents A Ballet Christmas Carol on December 15 and 16 at Dallas City Performance Hall.

Photo by Brian Guilliaux

Avant Chamber Ballet presents A Ballet Christmas Carol on December 15 and 16 at Dallas City Performance Hall.

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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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