Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this Thanksgiving weekend

As is always the case the weekend of Thanksgiving, holiday events dominate the landscape across Dallas. There will be lots of lights, Nutcrackers in both dance and concert forms, two theater versions of the Scrooge story, flipping reindeer, two Christmas-themed concerts, and a kids theater production. Two other events aren't explicitly about the holidays, but offer something for both kids and adults.

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

Wednesday, November 23

Disney On Ice: Into the Magic
At Disney On Ice: Into the Magic, hosts Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will bring audiences on an expedition across raging seas, snow covered mountains, and the marigold bridge. The action-packed extravaganza features Disney’s Moana, Frozen, Coco, and Beauty and the Beast, along with other beloved Disney characters. There will be multiple performances through Sunday at Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen.

Friday, November 25

Holiday lights galore
As always, there will be no shortage of holiday lights to look at in and around Dallas this season. Among the notable displays opening on Friday will be Enchant at Fair Park, featuring millions of lights, an ice skating trail, marketplace, and more; Vitruvian Lights at Vitruvian Park in Addison, where hundreds of trees are wrapped in colorful lights; Lights on the Farm at Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano, featuring a quarter-mile trail showcasing holiday light creations and animated displays; and Lights on The Lake at Little Elm Park, featuring lights and activities like a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and an ice skating rink. All events will be open through at least December 25.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents The Nutcracker in concert
Maurice Cohn leads the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in selections from Tchaikovsky’s iconic Nutcracker score. The story of The Nutcracker, loosely based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann fantasy, is the story of a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King. Audiences will enjoy the miniature overtures, triumphant marches, Russian, Arabian and Chinese dances, and the Waltz of the Flowers. There will three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Cirque du Soleil: Twas the Night Before...
Twas the Night Before…, Cirque du Soleil’s spin on the beloved Christmas tale, is about the wonders of sharing and friendship. The production marks Cirque du Soleil’s first-ever Christmas show and is a flurry of Christmas cheer, rip-roaring fun with hugely lovable characters that will introduce audiences to the magic of the acrobatic troupe. The production runs through December 11 at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Pocket Sandwich Theatre presents Ebenezer Scrooge
A year after being forced to move from their longtime Dallas location, Pocket Sandwich Theatre returns at a new venue in Carrollton with their traditional Ebenezer Scrooge production. The production is based on the age-old holiday favorite about the miserly Scrooge, who is visited one Christmas Eve by three ghosts intent on helping him change his ways. It runs through December 23.

Dallas Theater Center presents A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center presents their annual production of A Christmas Carol, a delightfully reimagined take on Dickens’ enduring classic. Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge to take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. But will it be enough to save Scrooge’s soul? The production runs through December 24 at Wyly Theatre.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
Featuring dazzling choreography and exquisite sets, The Nutcracker celebrates the season with enchantment, snowflakes, and sweets. Texas Ballet Theater presents the most magical Christmas tradition of the season as Clara and her Nutcracker Prince battle an army of mice and travel through a winter wonderland to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Kingdom of Sweets. The production runs through December 4 at Winspear Opera House.

Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox: A Very Postmodern Christmas
New York City pianist Scott Bradlee created Postmodern Jukebox to remake the pop hits of today into the classic sounds of the legends of yesterday. The group has grown to become a pop culture mainstay in its own right, introducing audiences to many of the world’s greatest singers, dancers, and instrumentalists. The concert will be at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, November 26

Cara Mia Theatre presents Crystal City 1969
Inspired by a little-known event in Texas history, Crystal City 1969 is based on the true story of Mexican-American students in south Texas who walked out of their school and into civil rights history. Crystal City became an example of American democracy at its best. The production runs through December 18 at Latino Cultural Center.

Sunday, November 27

Dallas Children's Theater presents Harry Connick, Jr.’s The Happy Elf
From Grammy-winning musician Harry Connick, Jr, The Happy Elf is a jazz musical that will get audiences in the holiday spirit. Eubie is, much to the exhaustion of his coworkers, an elf of unparalleled and endless energy looking to get a spot on Santa’s coveted sleigh team. When his unstoppably sunny spirit comes into contact with the miserable town of Bluesville, where every single child is on the naughty list, he’s in for the shock of a lifetime. Will his relentless positive attitude be enough to turn this gloomy place around, or has the happiest elf in the North Pole finally met his match? The production runs through December 23 at Rosewood Center for Family Arts.

For King + Country in concert
Christian pop duo For King + Country has been one of the most successful bands in the genre over the past decade, with all of their albums reaching the top five on the Christian charts, and two going to No. 1, including their latest, What Are We Waiting For? This concert may feature some of their biggest hits, but it will also have a holiday theme as it's part of their A Drummer Boy Christmas tour, named for their 2020 Christmas album.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News

Cara Mia Theatre presents Crystal City 1969 at Latino Cultural Center, November 26-December 18.

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Animal News

Latest animal to die at Dallas Zoo is young male gorilla named Zola

Dallas Zoo

Zola RIP

Another animal at the Dallas Zoo has died an untimely death: Zola, a young Western lowland gorilla, died on Wednesday, November 5, at age 23.

The zoo does not know why Zola died. According to their post, he showed symptoms of lethargy, reduced appetite, and signs of discomfort at the end of October. A necropsy will be performed.

"Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to begin breathing on his own afterward, despite the extraordinary efforts of our veterinary and animal care teams," their post says. "With his comfort as our priority, we made the difficult decision to let him go peacefully."

The zoo did not announce Zola's death immediately, instead waiting two days until Friday afternoon at 3 pm. Politicians and government agencies prefer to choose Friday afternoons to post news that is negative or controversial, since fewer people, and definitely fewer journalists, are online on Friday afternoons. It's called the "Friday news dump."

The death is very inconvenient for the Dallas Zoo since they were just about to ship off their male gorillas, which also include Juba, B'Wenzi, and Zola's half-brother Shana, to the San Antonio Zoo. Animals are very dear to the zoo — until it's time to ship them off to another zoo.

For now, the relocation of the other three male gorillas is "temporarily on hold" but the zoo says they will be moved "when the time is right," and that is all you need to know about that.

The zoo has already said that they'll be shipping in other gorillas to replace them — although we do not know which gorillas and from where. The Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the overseeing body for zoos, only divulges that kind of intel on a "need to know" basis. Right now, you and I do not need to know. If we did know which gorillas were coming and where they were coming from, we might ask questions that would force the zoo to explain what it's up to.

Zola was born at the Bronx Zoo in 2002 and became internet famous as the "breakdancing gorilla" for splashing in pools and puddles. Some animal experts attributed his actions to frustration at being locked inside a zoo. He was relocated to the Calgary Zoo in 2009 when he was only 7 years old — zoos always play up what great bonds and family ties their animals have, until it's time to ship them somewhere else, and then suddenly the bonds and family ties don't matter.

Unfortunately, Zola did not "integrate well" at the Calgary Zoo, so he got shipped off to the Dallas Zoo in 2013.

At least now he won't have to be relocated again.

Death count
Zola's death is one more in a long-running series of deaths at the Dallas Zoo in recent years, the most previous being Jata, a 7-year-old painted dog who died in June 2024. Jata also showed signs of lethargy and decreased appetite, reportedly due to kidney disease.

Whenever a death occurs, they always wax on about their "extraordinary" veterinary and animal care teams — and yet, so many of these deaths were either unexplained or completely caught their teams by surprise.

Zola the Western lowland gorilla is the latest to join this death march of animals at the Dallas Zoo:

Jata, one of the zoo's three African painted dogs, died in June 2024, at seven years old.
Ferrell, a 15-year-old giraffe, died in December, 2023, following "an unexpected fall in the barn" that injured the giraffe's jaw so badly, they were forced to euthanize him.
Ajabu, a 6-year-old African elephant who died on May 8, 2023, from the herpes virus.
Pin, a 35-year-old lappet-faced vulture, died on January 22, 2023, cause unknown.
Jesse, a 14-year-old giraffe, died on October 29, 2021, cause unknown.
Auggie, a 19-year-old giraffe, died in late October 2021 of liver failure.
Marekani, a 3-month-old baby giraffe, sustained a mysterious injury and was euthanized on October 3, 2021.
Kirk, a 31-year-old chimpanzee, died in August 2021 due to "surprise" heart disease.
Keeya, a 6-year-old Hartmann's mountain zebra, died in March 2021 due to a mysterious unexplained head injury.
Subira, a 24-year-old silverback gorilla, died suddenly in March 2020, due to a cough, or maybe cardiovascular disease. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hope, a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla, died suddenly in November 2019 after being at the zoo for only two years.
Ola, an 8-year-old female African painted dog, was killed in July 2019 by two other painted dogs, less than a month after she was transferred to the zoo.
Witten, a 1-year-old giraffe, died in June 2019 during a physical exam under anesthesia when he suddenly stopped breathing.
Adhama, a baby hippopotamus, mysteriously died in 2018.
Kipenzi, a baby giraffe, died in 2015 after running in her enclosure.
Kamau, a young cheetah, died of pneumonia in 2014.
Johari, a female lion, was killed in front of zoo spectators in 2013 by male lions with whom she shared an enclosure.

And in February 2021, they lost a crow called Onyx who was part of their "animal ambassador team," "participating in a training session" for a bird show. He was never found.

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