Weekend event planner

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

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Aretha: A Tribute," featuring Capathia Jenkins, at the Meyerson Symphony Center, October 14-16.

Photo courtesy of John Such Artists' Management

This weekend across Dallas is a busy one, kicked off by the newest signature event from CultureMap. There will also be four local theater productions, a fandom festival, a big film festival, a tribute to one of the best singers of all time, two country stars together in concert, two big comedians, and two new art exhibitions.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, October 13

CultureMap Dallas presents The Tailgate
CultureMap Dallas presents the launch of our newest signature event series: The Tailgate, a celebration of the culture of sports - all sports - and the fans who cheer them on. This event combines the best parts of tailgating with an elevated but playful experience featuring chef-driven food, signature cocktails, game-day-inspired activities, entertainment, and more. The event takes place at The Empire Room.

Dallas Theater Center presents Trouble in Mind
The 1955 comedy-drama Trouble in Mind - planned for Broadway but canceled when the playwright wouldn’t tone down its message - made a triumphant premiere in New York in 2021. The play follows an experienced Black stage actress through rehearsals of a major Broadway production in Alice Childress’s funny, moving, and ultimately shattering look at racism, identity, and ego in the high-stakes world of New York theater. The production runs through October 30 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Theatre Three presents Young Frankenstein
From the creators of the Broadway sensation The Producers comes the monstrously fun musical, Young Frankenstein. When the grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein, inherits his family’s estate, his mad scientist genes come to fruition. With the help of his assistant, Igor, he brings a monster to life and hilarity ensues. With memorable tunes like "The Transylvania Mania," "Don’t Touch Me," and "Puttin' on the Ritz," Young Frankenstein is an electrifyingly good time. The production runs through November 13 at Theatre Three.

Rover Dramawerks presents Stone Cold Murder
Newlyweds Robert and Olivia Chappell have bought a small hotel in the English Lake District. At the end of their first season they settle down with a drink in front of a warm fire, but their evening is interrupted by the arrival of a rugged hiker seeking shelter from the snowstorm outside. Could the stranger have anything to do with Olivia’s dark past? A desperate fight for survival begins, with twists and turns for all those involved, while ratcheting up the suspense until the very end. The production runs through October 29 at Cox Building Playhouse in Plano.

Friday, October 14

Dallas Fan Festival
At Dallas Fan Festival, guests can participate in the pop culture playground’s many activities, contests, and special events that put creativity front and center. A number of celebrities will make appearances, including Colton Haynes, Matt Smith, Tom Sturridge, Jenna Coleman, Stephen Amell, Gates McFadden, and more. The festival runs through Sunday at Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.

16th Dallas International Film Festival
More than 80 films will screen during the 16th Dallas International Film Festival, including opening night filmArmageddon Time, starring Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, and Jeremy Strong; closing night film Call Jane, starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver; The Banshees of Inisherin, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson; and Hargrove, a documentary executive produced by Erykah Badu about Jazz trumpet legend Roy Hargrove. Screenings will take place through October 20 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Cedars and various other Dallas landmarks.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Aretha: A Tribute"
Broadway diva Capathia Jenkins and three-time Grammy nominee Ryan Shaw will perform during this concert featuring all the favorite Aretha Franklin hits. Led by Grammy Award-winning conductor John McLaughlin Williams, this high-energy, glittering tribute to the Queen of Soul includes iconic favorites like "Respect," "Think," "A Natural Woman," "Chain of Fools," "Amazing Grace," and more. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Travis Tritt and Chris Janson in concert
Two generations of country will come together when Travis Tritt and Chris Janson co-headline this concert at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie. Tritt is the veteran, with a career going back more than 30 years that's featured multiple No. 1 songs. Janson is only seven years into his career, but he's already released four albums, including 2022's All In. The two singers also collaborated on Janson's recent song "Things You Can't Live Without."

Richardson Theatre Centre presents A Few Good Men
Two Naval soldiers are accused of murder. When the two accused plead guilty, Lt. Daniel Kaffee and Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway are assigned to be their lawyers. Galloway doesn’t believe Dawson and Downey came up with the idea to kill; she has suspicions that they were following orders. Kaffee, on the other hand, couldn’t care less – about this trial, about the Navy, or, at first, about Galloway’s opinion. The two need to work together to figure out what exactly happened in Guantanamo Bay – but before they can bring anyone to justice, they need to learn how to work with one another. The production runs through October 30 at Richardson Theatre Centre.

JB Smoove: Physical Therapy Tour
JB Smoove is a multi-talented writer, comedian, and actor perhaps best known for playing Leon in the iconic HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm. He tours as a standup internationally, bringing the ruckus to sold-out audiences all over the world. He'll perform for one night only at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, October 15

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Nairy Baghramian: "Modèle vivant" opening day
Nasher Sculpture Center will open "Modèle vivant," the new exhibition from 2022 Nasher Prize Laureate Nairy Baghramian. For her Nasher exhibition, Baghramian will create a new series of sculptures that explore the provisional body as the site of trauma by disrupting the habits of the conditioned eye. The sculptures will be presented in dialogue with works from the Nasher’s permanent collection. The exhibition will remain on display through January 8, 2023.

Tom Papa: Family Reunion Tour
With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country, finding success as an author, in film, TV, radio, and podcasts, as well as on the live stage. He's written two books, including 2020's You’re Doing Great! - And Other Reasons To Stay Alive, and has released four hour-long stand-up specials. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, October 16

Dallas Museum of Art presents Matthew Wong: "The Realm of Appearances" opening day
The first museum retrospective and U.S. museum exhibition devoted to the late painter Matthew Wong premieres at the Dallas Museum of Art, the only museum that collected the artist’s work during his lifetime. Featuring approximately 60 paintings created by Wong during his short yet prolific career, Matthew Wong: "The Realm of Appearances" offers the first formal account of the full scope of Wong’s six-year oeuvre. The exhibition will remain on display through February 5, 2023.

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Wicked News

Wizard of Oz ruby slippers bought by mystery bidder for $28 million

Heritage Auctions

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A pair of iconic ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago sold for a winning bid of $28 million at auction on December 7.

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or more, but the fast-paced bidding far outpaced that amount within seconds and tripled it within minutes. A few bidders making offers by phone volleyed back and forth for 15 minutes as the price climbed to the final, eye-popping sum.

Including the auction house fee, the unknown buyer will ultimately pay $32.5 million.

Online bidding, which opened last month, had stood at $1.55 million before live bidding began late Saturday afternoon.

The sparkly red heels were on display at the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005 when Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case. Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.

Martin, now 77, who lives near Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, wasn’t publicly exposed as the thief until he was indicted in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023. He was in a wheelchair and on supplementary oxygen when he was sentenced last January to time served because of his poor health.

The shoes were returned in February to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the museum. They were one of several pairs that Garland wore during the filming, but only four pairs are known to have survived. In the movie, to return from Oz to Kansas, Dorothy had to click her heels three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home.”

As Rhys Thomas, author of The Ruby Slippers of Oz, put it, the sequined shoes from the beloved 1939 musical have seen “more twists and turns than the Yellow Brick Road.”

Over 800 people had been tracking the slippers, and the company’s webpage for the auction had hit nearly 43,000 page views by Thursday, said Robert Wilonsky, a vice president with the auction house.

Among those bidding to bring the slippers home was the Judy Garland Museum, which posted on Facebook shortly after that it did not place the winning bid. The museum had campaigned for donations to supplement money raised by the city of Grand Rapids at its annual Judy Garland festival and the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to help the museum purchase the slippers.

After the slippers sold, the auctioneer told bidders and spectators in the room and watching online that the previous record for a piece of entertainment memorabilia was $5.52 million, for the white dress Marilyn Monroe famously wore atop a windy subway grate.

The auction also included other memorabilia from The Wizard of Oz, such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton, who played the original Wicked Witch of the West. That item went for $2.4 million, or a total final cost to the buyer of $2.93 million.

The Wizard of Oz story has gained new attention in recent weeks with the release of the movieWicked, an adaptation of the megahit Broadway musical, a prequel of sorts that reimagines the character of the Wicked Witch of the West.

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