Weekend Event Planner

These are the 14 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The season of festivals continues in and around Dallas, with three more taking place this weekend. Other events include a symphony concert, a performing arts block party, two local theater productions, two concerts featuring legendary singers, two dance productions, a well-known comedian, the final days of a notable exhibition, and a tribute to one of the best singers of all time.

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, April 10

Dallas Art Fair
The Dallas Art Fair offers collectors, arts professionals, and the public the opportunity to engage with a selection of modern and contemporary artworks presented by global and local galleries. The 2025 edition will feature a roster of more than 90 exhibitors from over 20 countries, including OMR from Mexico City, Canada Gallery from New York, Koki Arts from Tokyo, and LBF Contemporary from London. Taking place at Fashion Industry Gallery, the event kicks off on Thursday with a VIP preview, with general admission days taking place Friday through Sunday.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Stravinksy’s The Rite of Spring"
Aziz Shokhakimov, Music Director of Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, guest conducts the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Stravinksy’s iconic The Rite of Spring. Trombonist Jörgen van Rijen will solo in the U.S. premiere of a concerto by Andrew Norman, and the concert will open with Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnole. There will be three performances through Saturday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Friday, April 11

Downtown Dallas Arts & Music Festival
The Downtown Dallas Arts & Music Festival is an outdoor event featuring pop-up markets showcasing a wide variety of area artists, makers, small businesses, and creative brands, including live painting, live murals, curated pop-up exhibitions, food trucks, and more. It will also include a music stage with a full schedule of live musicians, performances, and entertainers. The festival, taking place through Sunday, will spread throughout Downtown Dallas on Main Street, focused on Main Street Garden Park and SPACE at Adolphus Tower.

Dallas Arts District presents Changing Perspectives Block Party
In celebration of Dallas Arts Month, Dallas Arts District will present their annual Changing Perspectives Block Party: A Cultural Festival. The family-friendly event features Melbourne-based performing arts company SWAY, which fuses theater, dance, and circus using a unique combination of sway-pole apparatus and bespoke performance equipment. The one-day event will also feature Monica Saldivar, The Original New Orleans Buckshop with Michelle Gibson, Percussion Things, Bombshell Dance Project with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet Company, the dance party band Aura, community muralist Lashonda Cooks, and more.

Art Centre Theatre presents Reefer Madness
When a clean-cut kid from a stand-up American family falls prey to marijuana, his descent into the pit is filled with jazz, sex, and violence. The pointed political satire is a mockery on the original propaganda film, Reefer Madness. The production runs through May 4 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents Run For Your Wife
A taxi driver gets away with having two wives in different areas of London because of his irregular working schedule. Complication is piled upon complication as the cabby tries to keep his double life from exploding. The production runs through May 4 at Richardson Theatre Centre.

Tanya Tucker in concert
Singer Tanya Tucker is country music royalty, having been in the industry since the age of 14. Her long career, which started in 1972, led her to have a string of top 10 singles throughout three different decades, including "What's Your Mama's Name?," "Just Another Love," and "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane." She's released 25 albums in her career, most recently Sweet Western Sound in 2023. She'll play at Longhorn Ballroom.

Ballet North Texas presents Don Quixote
Under the direction of Artistic Director Nicolina Lawson, Ballet North Texas will present Don Quixote, a romantic ballet extravaganza featuring dynamic choreography, colorful characters, and a captivating narrative that transports audiences on a sunny romp through the Spanish countryside. The show will highlight the adventures of the chivalrous Don Quixote and his loyal squire Sancho Panza, and the blossoming romance between Kitri and the handsome Basilio. There will be four performances through Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Whim W'Him
Whim W’Him, an award-winning Seattle-based dance company known for its artistic quality and innovative choreography, will make their Texas debut. Founded in 2009 by former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer and choreographer Olivier Wevers, Whim W’Him has become a rising star in the dance world. They'll perform at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday. April 12

Big Texas Beer Fest
At Texas’ biggest beer festival, Big Texas Beer Fest, visitors can sample over 300 beers from more than 65 brewers. Visitors can also jam out to live music in the outdoor food and music pavilion. There will be several food vendors and music from Dallas-Fort Worth bands, as well as arcade games from Free Play Arcade. A portion of the proceeds of the event, taking place in the Automobile Building at Fair Park, benefits the North Texas Food Bank.

Aziz Ansari: Hypothetical Tour
Aziz Ansari is an award-winning actor, director, writer, and comedian best known for co-creating, writing, directing, and starring in the Netflix original series, Master of None. In October of 2025, he will release the film Good Fortune, which he wrote, directed, and costars with Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen. He is also known for co-starring in NBC’s Parks and Recreation. His latest special, Nightclub Comedian, is now streaming on Netflix. He'll perform at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Graham Nash in concert
Singer Graham Nash has been a part of some of the most iconic groups in music history. He founded the band The Hollies as a teenager in the late 1950s, a group that endures to this day despite Nash leaving it for good in 1983. He was also a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash, an influential group - which sometimes included Neil Young - that was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As a solo artist, the 83-year-old Nash has released seven albums, most recently Now in 2023. He'll play at Longhorn Ballroom, performing favorite songs from throughout his long career.

Sunday, April 13

Arlington Museum of Art presents "Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view "Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition" at the Arlington Museum of Art, which tells the story of the world’s most loved princess through an intimate new lens. The exhibition features 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.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - A Celebration of The Music of Aretha Franklin
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is a tribute celebrating the music of the legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The concert experience takes audiences on a journey of love, tragedy, courage, and triumph, featuring a live band and multiple vocalists. Selections for the concert, taking place at Majestic Theatre, include "Natural Woman," "Think," "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me," "Chain of Fools," "Respect," and more.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Arts District

The Dallas Arts District will present the Changing Perspectives Block Party on April 11.

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Movie Review

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck team up for Netflix crime thriller The Rip

Photo by Claire Folger/Netflix

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in The Rip.

For as closely tied together as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are, it might come as a surprise how few times they’ve led a movie together. They’ve appeared alongside each other in Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel, and Air, but the only time they were on equal footing in a story was Kevin Smith’s Dogma. So the fact that they are the two true stars of the new Netflix movie The Rip makes it a rare opportunity for the longtime friends to square off against each other.

Damon and Affleck play Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sgt. J.D Byrne, respectively, the two highest ranking members of a Miami police department squad that specializes in drug and drug money raids. A tragedy to begin the film already has the team - which includes Detectives Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandina Moreno) - on edge, with the FBI and DEA breathing down their neck.

Going off a tip, Dumars gathers the team to raid a house in nearby Hialeah that is supposed to have a stash of a relatively small amount of money. But when they get to the house occupied only by Desiree Molina (Sasha Calle), they soon discover that there’s close to $20 million there instead. The team, required by law to count the money on site, must not only fight the urge to skim a little off the top for themselves, but also worry about the Cartel and other agencies that might want a slice of the pie.

Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the film is a surprisingly effective crime thriller made even better by its high-quality cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler as a DEA agent. The story is designed for the audience to not know who’s trustworthy until the last possible second, and the various twists and turns it takes are well done, with barely a hint of narrative cheating.

Taking place entirely at night, the mood is set right from the start, with the only surprise being that Carnahan didn’t add in rain for extra effect. He keeps things tense with a number of subtle elements, including having the house located in a seemingly deserted cul-de-sac. This allows for the characters to remain on high alert at all times, with anything out of the ordinary - an unexpected noise, a flashing light, etc. - adding to the stress of the situation.

The only element that could have used a bit more of a punch-up is the characterization. The story is set up to cast suspicion on almost everybody, making it tougher to understand exactly what type of person each of them is. As the two leads, more time is spent with Dumars and Byrne, leaving everyone else with slightly underwhelming arcs. It’s to the credit of the actors that everyone else below Damon and Affleck is still compelling.

Damon and Affleck play their sometimes friendly, sometimes adversarial roles well, showing an ease together that’s a result of their friendship and the acting skills they’ve honed over 30+ years. Taylor, an Oscar hopeful for One Battle After Another, and Oscar nominee/Emmy winner Yeun have a pedigree that elevates their supporting roles. Chandler, Moreno, and Calle each get just enough to demonstrate why they were cast in their respective roles.

Damon and Affleck have had their individual ups and downs throughout their careers, but when they choose to work together, the results are usually good-to-great, as they are in The Rip. It’s a different take on a crime thriller that features a story that will keep viewers guessing until the very end.

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The Rip is now streaming on Netflix.

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