Weekend Event Planner

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

The last weekend in June has a nice variety of events to choose from, including concerts featuring rock and Disney music, a fantastical dance production, a film festival, three theater productions, a big golf tournament, a well-known comedian, a highly anticipated basketball game, and early 4th of July celebrations.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you want more options, check out the calendar for an even longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, June 26

Summer of Loud Tour
The Summer of Loud Tour is aptly named, as the festival-style event will feature a number of rock bands, led by headliners Beartooth, I Prevail, Killswitch Engage, and Parkway Drive. Other performers include The Devil Wears Prada, The Amity Affliction, and Alpha Wolf. The event takes place at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Fever presents We Call it Ballet: Sleeping Beauty Dance and Light Show
Audiences can experience Sleeping Beauty like never before in this dance and light show. It's a unique fusion of classical ballet and modern technology, where local dancers literally light up the stage with glittering routines and glow-in-the-dark costumes. The timeless tale of the cursed princess awakened by her true love’s kiss comes to life on stage, as pirouettes and gravity-defying leaps cast a kaleidoscope of colors across the space. There will be two performances on Thursday at Irving Arts Center.

Oak Cliff Film Festival
The Oak Cliff Film Festival will feature a variety of feature films, short films, concerts, workshops, and more. Highlights include opening night film Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon, the Marc Maron documentary Are We Good?, closing night film Gypsy 83: Director's Cut, and more. Events will take place through Sunday at Texas Theatre, Bishop Arts Theater Center, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, The Kessler Theater, and more.

Turtle Creek Chorale presents Disney PRIDE in Concert
Turtle Creek Chorale will perform iconic Disney songs alongside a 30-piece orchestra, celebrating themes of love, LGBTQ+ pride, and family ties. Disney PRIDE in Concert will honor Disney’s globally acclaimed musical legacy and provide Chorale members the opportunity to share their personal journeys and reflect on how this music has shaped their lives. The program will include songs from The Lion King, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and more. The concert takes place on Thursday and Friday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

The Firehouse Theatre presents Oklahoma!
In a Western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination and the promise of a new land. The production runs through July 13 at The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch.

Broadway at the Center presents The Addams Family
A comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, The Addams Family is the magnificently macabre hit musical featuring everyone’s favorite creepy, kooky characters. Wednesday Addams has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. A man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before - keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. The production will have four performances through Saturday at Winspear Opera House.

Friday, June 27

Maridoe Golf Club presents LIV Golf Dallas
LIV Golf returns to Dallas with a weekend of world-class golf competition, entertainment, and immersive fan experiences. Fans can get up close to many of the biggest stars in the game, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and more, as they compete in the league’s unique individual and team format. The band Whiskey Myers will perform live following the competition on Saturday. The tournament takes place through Sunday at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton.

Mic Drop Comedy presents Christopher Titus
Christopher Titus is a prolific stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is currently performing his ninth 90-minute special Stories I Shouldn't Tell, while his most recent special, Amerigeddon, is available on Amazon. Additionally, Titus has a podcast called The Armageddon Update/Titus Podcast. He'll perform four times through Saturday at Mic Drop Comedy in Plano.

Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever
The WNBA has experienced a huge upswing in popularity in the past year thanks to an influx of great young players, most notably 2024 Rookie of the Year, Caitlin Clark. With the Dallas Wings gaining buzz thanks to their recent No. 1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, a visit on Friday by Clark and her team, the Indiana Fever, made it an easy choice for the Wings to host their first-ever game at American Airlines Center instead of the much-smaller College Park Center in Arlington.

Sundown Collaborative Theatre presents The Amphibians
Set 13 years in the future, The Amphibians takes place in west central Florida shortly after the point of no return in the fight against climate change. When two high-schoolers unearth a wondrous discovery in the woods, they learn hard lessons about the evolution of friendship and what it means to take care of something at the end of the world. The production runs through July 6 at the Theatre Denton Annex within Golden Triangle Mall in Denton.

Saturday, June 28

Early 4th of July events
While most 4th of July events in and around Dallas will take place on July 3 or 4, there are a few places celebrating early. They include Ennis Freedom Fest, the Yankee Doodle Parade in Denton, Red, White and Boom! Sunnyfest Celebration in Sunnyvale, Market Street Allen USA in Allen, and Independence Day Celebration at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Dallas Wings No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers

Photo courtesy of WNBA

The Dallas Wings and their No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers will face off against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at American Airlines Center on June 27.

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The grass will be greener

AT&T Stadium glows pretty in pink as World Cup field takes root

Dallas Stadium pitch for 2026 FIFA World Cup

Photo courtesy of FIFA

Grass grow-lights suspended from the ceiling at AT&T Stadium are turning the pitch pink.

FIFA officials unveiled the soccer pitch taking shape at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for 2026 World Cup matches, and the most noticeable feature is that it's ... pink. At least for now.

Much like pink-hued LED lights that make indoor gardens grow at home, giant grow lights have been suspended from the ceiling to promote photosynthesis, as the stadium's retractable roof does not allow enough sunlight for grass to grow.

The innovative roof-suspended light system (which allows for lights to be raised or lowered) is the first of its kind for FIFA, says Ewen Hodge, FIFA World Cup 2026 head of pitch infrastructure. AT&T Stadium is the only 2026 World Cup venue employing the technology.

FIFA pitch, Dallas Stadium The lights are suspended on 18 rigs, which can be raised and lowered over the field.Photo courtesy of FIFA

"They've never been hung from the ceiling before," Hodge says. "Typically these systems have a set of wheels that they're wheeled in and out of the facility and these are able to be lifted up, and that means that we have one less thing on the field."

For soccer newbies, the "pitch" is the official term for the rectangular field where a match is played. And in FIFA World Cup world, that field is real grass - not the artificial turf that the Cowboys play on. It is 105 meters by 68 meters, which roughly converts to 115 yards by 75 yards.

Pitch prep at "Dallas Stadium," which AT&T Stadium will be called during World Cup, started about two months ago, Hodge says.

They started by installing ventilation and irrigations systems above the stadium's concrete floor, then laid down several inches of sand to support the natural grass surface - a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass grown and shipped from Colorado, he says.

Dallas Stadium, World Cup pitch The pitch is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass, and there's a layer of sand underneath.Photo courtesy of FIFA

Nylon fibers are being stitched into the grass using specialized machinery to help reinforce the field.

A team of about 25 workers is mowing and irrigating daily, Hodge says, to ensure the grass will be ready and healthy for the first game (Netherlands vs Japan) on June 14. During matches, the grow-lights will be taken up 290 feet into the ceiling so they will not create sight lines, says Tod Martin, general manager of AT&T Stadium.

Between the nine matches that will be played at the stadium, the grow-lights will come back down from the ceiling, and grass will be fertilized, monitored for diseases, and adjustments will be made.

"We always say that our days from the pitch management side are busier than a match day," Hodge says. "On a match day, we're doing a mow and getting the line marks out there, so it's the final touches so we're ready for the game."

Dallas Stadium, World Cup pitch Nylon fibers are being stitched into the grass using specialized machinery to help reinforce the field. Photo courtesy of FIFA

Maintaining a grass standard across all venues for the World Cup tournament is a major challenge due to the climate differences between each city, he says.

Hodge, a New Zealand native, first visited AT&T Stadium in March 2023 to begin planning how the venue would accommodate a World Cup-caliber pitch. To gather ideas, AT&T Stadium's Martin traveled to Wembley Stadium in England, where he met with officials to learn firsthand how they manage one of the world's most famous soccer fields.

"They're impressive. It was a sight to see for sure," Martin says.

"Test games" at AT&T Stadium have been used to evaluate things like how the field feels under the players' feet and how fast the ball travels, Hodge says.

World Cup pitch, Dallas Stadium The field is longer and wider than it would be for an NFL game to allow for things like corner kicks.Photo courtesy of FIFA

By the numbers, Martin offered, the pitch at the stadium has involved 10 contractors, 45,000 man hours, 15,000 tons of materials hauled in, and 24 refrigerated trucks to transport the pitch from Colorado; the grass came in four-foot-wide rolls, 50 feet long.

The biggest installation challenges, Martin says, involved structural modifications to the stadium, including extending the field into the patio suites. "We had to take out roughly three feet in our corners to get a little bit more room for those corner kicks," he says.

After the tournament, Martin says, the grass will be taken out and recycled by a contractor for other projects.

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