Event planner

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year top the best events in Dallas this weekend

It's Valentine's Day weekend, which means there are plenty of romantic options out there for those of us lucky to be in love. But if you're kicking it single-style this year, don't fret: Most of this week's events don't require a partner.

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, February 14

Lexus Broadway Series presents Anything Goes!
The Cole Porter musical dates back to 1934, but it's as timeless as any song-and-dance production that's hit the Great White Way, as evidenced by its recent Tony Award-winning revival. That revival is currently on a national tour, and it makes a stop at Winspear Opera House through February 24. They even have a special Valentine's Day matinee for anyone looking to surprise a loved one.

Klyde Warren Park presents Valentine's Day at the Park
The first Valentine's Day in Klyde Warren Park's short existence promises to be an ultra-romantic one, as there will be champagne, desserts and sultry music all night long. Whether you hit up the park on the way to dinner or make it the main attraction, KWP is the place to be this Valentine's Day.

Patti Labelle in concert with Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant
If the soul/R&B lineup at American Airlines Center, appropriately labeled the Love Train tour, doesn't get you in the mood for love, then nothing will. It features three former members of New Edition —Brown, Gill and Tresvant — and the concert is headlined by one of the queens of R&B, Patti Labelle. At least five other singers are on the bill, so one thing the night won't be lacking is entertainment.

Friday, February 15

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Romeo and Juliet
The story of Romeo and Juliet is, of course, one of the most tragic love stories of all time, so there isn't any more appropriate time for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to present Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suite than Valentine's Day weekend. The concert, which also features works by Debussy and Rodrigo, runs through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Crow Collection of Asian Art presents 2013 Chinese New Year Celebration
Yes, technically the Chinese New Year began last Sunday, but who wants to have a nighttime street fair on a Sunday? The Crow Collection of Asian Art takes over Flora Street with a parade, a variety of art-making activities, and food trucks like Nammi and Ssahm BBQ. As a bonus, visitors can get a sneak peek at the Crow's new collection, China Through the Lens of John Thomson 1868-1872, which doesn't officially open until Saturday.

Saturday, February 16

Dallas Summer Musicals presents Catch Me If You Can
Don't let the name fool you: Dallas Summer Musicals presents shows at the Music Hall at Fair Park year-round. The 2013 season kicks off with a crowd-pleaser, Catch Me If You Can, the musical based on the Steven Spielberg movie that was based on the book of the real life of con man Frank Abagnale. The show, which started Tuesday, runs through February 24.

2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
The confines of Cowboys Stadium are so large that it could likely fit two normal-sized stadiums inside, so when AMA Supercross is looking for a local spot to stage one of its competitions, Jerry World is the only logical choice. The best of the best from the Supercross tour will jump, skid and hopefully not crash on the dirt course set up right where the Cowboys crashed and burned.

Sunday, February 17

The Complete Works of Shakespeare - Henry VI, Part 1
With the fifth entry in the five-year quest to present staged readings of every single Shakespearean work, Shakespeare Dallas is finally going back to the beginning of the Bard's career with the presentation of Henry VI, Part 1. It is the first play in the War of the Roses tetralogy, which will be presented in order at Winspear Opera House over the next four months. This reading happens in Hamon Hall on Sunday and Monday.

500X Gallery presents EXPO 2013
If you're interested in seeing what's new and great in Texas art, you'd do well to stop by 500X Gallery the next few weekends. The annual EXPO, a showcase of works created by artists from around the Lone Star State, is now on display. The competition, judged by Iris Bechtol, runs through March 3.

Patti Labelle headlines the Love Train concert at American Airlines Center on Valentine's Day.

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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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