Weekend Event Planner

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

This weekend around Dallas will feature a bunch of big events, most notably a Broadway musical, two new exhibitions featuring beloved subjects, the unofficial start to baseball season, and a kids movie festival. Other choices include a local theater production, a Lego celebration, a rap concert, a comedy showcase, and the closings of two long-running events.

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

Thursday, January 16

Broadway Dallas presents Come From Away
Come From Away is the true story of the small town that welcomed the world. The musical takes audiences into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers on 9/11, and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. The production runs through Sunday at Winspear Opera House.

Friday, January 17

Arlington Museum of Art presents "Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition"
"Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition" tells the story of the world’s most loved princess through an intimate new lens. The exhibition will feature a collection of larger-than-life images taken by Diana’s trusted friend and Official Royal Photographer, the late Anwar Hussein, as well as his sons Samir and Zak. Each image will be accompanied by first-hand accounts of the stories behind the world-famous moments, told through an in-depth audio guide. The exhibition will remain on display through April 6. Read more about it in this story.

Arlington Museum of Art presents "Wicked Threads: The Artistry of Costume in Oz"
"Wicked Threads: The Artistry of Costume in Oz" features a collection of costumes from the movie adaptation of Wicked, celebrating the artistry of the costume design and 20+ years of the beloved Broadway musical. The exhibition will feature original costumes, props, and images from the film including Glinda’s "bubble" dress and Elphaba’s "Defying Gravity" costume. The exhibition will remain on display through April 27. Get a preview here.

Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents Deathtrap
Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, struggles to overcome a dry spell which has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student. Sidney’s plan is to offer collaboration to the student for co-credit. Or is it? Deathtrap provides twists and turns of devilish cleverness and offers hilariously sudden shocks in abundance. The production runs through February 1 at Irving Arts Center.

Saturday, January 18

Texas Rangers Fan Fest
The Texas Rangers will present their annual Fan Fest, which will feature autograph sessions with current Rangers players and alumni, Q&A sessions with players and legends, a baseball card show, a chance to run the bases, a Wiffle ball home run derby, and more. The one-day event takes place at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Brick Fest Live
At Brick Fest Live, families can get hands-on with different brick challenges throughout the event as well as explore community collab builds and master creations from all over the world. The event will feature a Guinness World Record Challenge where visitors can help create a massive floor mosaic. There will also be a Giant Brick Pit, life-size models, brick derby races, a glow zone, hands-on build zones, and a chance to get up close with Lego masters from the hit TV show. The event takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

KidFilm Family Festival
The 41st Annual KidFilm Family Festival will feature 12 programs with feature films, short films, author appearances, and more. Highlights include a screening of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, the first fully-animated feature-length film in Looney Tunes history, and an appearance by Aaron Reynolds, author of Creepy Carrots! and more. The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Angelika Film Center in Dallas.

Rod Wave in concert
Rapper Rod Wave may not have the broad name recognition of artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, or Jay Z, but that hasn't stopped him from dominating the charts for the past four years. Every one of his last five albums, including Last Lap in 2024, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Rap chart, and most of them also made it to No. 1 on the overall Billboard 200. He'll perform at American Airlines Center.

MLK Comedy Fest featuring Cedric the Entertainer
Those in need of a laugh or two will find way more than that at the MLK Comedy Fest, taking place at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie. The show, headlined by Cedric the Entertainer, will also feature performances by DC Young Fly, B. Simone, Finesse Mitchell, and more.

Photo courtesy of Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc.

The Tianyu Lights Festival, taking place on the festival grounds at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, ends on January 19.

Sunday, January 19

Tianyu Lights Festival closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view the Tianyu Lights Festival, located in the festival grounds near Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie. The immersive show tells the story of a 7-year-old boy as he explores the magical rainforest of Caballococha, Peru. It includes 19 immersive scenes featuring larger-than-life lantern sculptures crafted from metal, steel, fabric, and LED lights, plus nightly performances by acrobats and folk performers, as well as food, beverages, and souvenirs for sale.

Monday, January 20

Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue
Monday is a holiday for many people, and it will also be the last chance to experience Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue. The event gives longtime Minecrafters, players and non-players alike, a chance to be heroes in a real-life, in-person Minecraft quest. Visitors can take part in an epic rescue mission and story-based experience where iconic places and creatures from the game are brought to life before their eyes. The event is located in the former Buy Buy Baby location at 2712 N. Central Expressway in Plano, adjacent to DART’s Parker Road station.

theater music galleries movies sports kids families festivals concerts comedy event-planner

Movie Review

Iranian film It Was Just an Accident is a thriller with deep meaning

Photo courtesy of Neon

Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr, Majid Panahi, and Hadis Pakbaten in It Was Just an Accident.

American filmmakers, for the most part, enjoy luxury and freedoms when making movies in the United States that filmmakers in other countries could only dream of. Not only does Iranian writer/director Jafar Panahi not have millions of dollars with which to make his films, he also has to deal with a government that has previously arrested him for being critical of their policies.

And yet he persists, returning to the screen with the taut It Was Just An Accident. The film begins with a kind of misdirect, showing Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi) and his family driving home at night, during which they strike and kill a dog. That accident sends Eghbal into the orbit of Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), who works at a business that helps repair Eghbal’s car.

Recognizing the distinctive sound of Eghbal’s prosthetic leg, Vahid believes him to be the same man who kidnapped and tortured him and others in a recent government arrest spree. Desperate to confirm his suspicions, Vahid kidnaps Eghbal and takes him to a series of people who were also imprisoned under the man they named “Peg Leg,” including Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a wedding photographer; Golrokh (Hadis Pakbaten), the bride being photographed; and more.

Most filmmakers have the ability to use sets and take as much time as they need - within reason - to get the shot they need. Panahi employs a type of guerrilla filmmaking rarely seen these days, stealing shots in broad daylight while trying not to gain the notice of Iranian authorities. The daring nature of the making of the movie infuses the story with an extra tension that elevates what is otherwise a relatively simple story.

The film puts the audience directly in the shoes of the various characters as each of them wrestles with the complicated feelings arising from their actions. As they were all blindfolded while imprisoned, they can’t be 100 percent sure they have the right man, and debates/arguments between the characters keep viewers guessing as to who he is and what they will do with him. Even if he is who they think he is, will enacting some kind of revenge on him soothe their consciences?

Through it all, the idea that a former political prisoner is making a film about former political prisoners who are engaging in conduct that could get them arrested again - just as Panahi is doing with his film - makes this meta filmmaking on another level. The simplicity of the story belies the complexity underscoring the entire film, and it delivers one of the most impactful endings of any recent movie.

While a few of the actors have acted before, including in previous Panahi films, most of them are making their first appearance in a movie. Despite this lack of experience, each of them does well, especially Mobasseri and Afshari, who share a number of heated scenes that bring out the best in both of them.

It Was Just an Accident is the type of film that constantly keeps the audience on their collective toes, never knowing where it will head next. And that’s even if you didn’t know the details of how and why it was made; once that is discovered, it becomes something much deeper and more important than most other movies that will be released in 2025.

---

It Was Just an Accident is now playing in select theaters.

movies film