Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There is quite the variety of events going on across Dallas this long Memorial Day weekend, with multiple outdoor events and celebrities of all different types. Choices include a (literally) major golf tournament, dance in a (sculpture) garden, two local theater productions, a horror convention, two big rock concerts, a classical concert, a unique musical performance, and an arts festival.

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

Thursday, May 25

Photo by Casey Howes and Krystal Butler

Pilobolus in the Garden will be at Nasher Sculpture Center on May 25 and 26.

KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
Major Championship golf is coming to Frisco for the first time with the playing of the 83rd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort. Twenty-five major champions will be part of the 156-player field, including John Daly, David Duval, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Pádraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard. Davis Love III, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, and more. The tournament takes place through Sunday.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Pilobolus in the Garden
Pilobolus in the Garden is a special TITAS-commissioned site-specific project created for, and in, the Nasher Sculpture Garden. The magical work involves the famed Pilobolus dancers performing with Booker T. Washington HSPVA’s student dancers, moving throughout the entire the Nasher garden landscape. The dancers, and audience, move quietly through the sculpture garden in an outdoor experience. There will be four performances through Friday.

Pocket Sandwich Theatre presents How the Other Half Loves
How the Other Half Loves follows three married couples whose lives are hopelessly, hilariously, entwined. Chaos ensues following the consequences of an adulterous affair between a married man and his boss' wife and their attempts to cover their tracks by roping in a third couple to be their alibi, resulting in a chain of misunderstandings, conflicts, revelations, and laughter. The production runs through June 17 at Pocket Sandwich Theatre in Carrollton.

Friday, May 26

Texas Frightmare Weekend
The annual Texas Frightmare Weekend, the Southwest’s premier horror convention, celebrates all aspects of genre films. The event features a variety of celebrity appearances, including filmmaker John Carpenter; filmmakers Sam and Ted Raimi; Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, and Dane DiLiegro from Prey; actor/dancer Amie Donald from M3GAN; and more. There will also be autograph signings, screenings, exclusive parties, and horror memorabilia vendors from all over the country. The event takes place through Sunday at Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.

Dead & Company in concert
Dead & Company comes to Dallas part of their final tour since forming in 2015. The band - Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, John Mayer, and Bob Weir, with Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti – will perform two sets of music drawing from the Grateful Dead’s historic catalog of songs. The concert is at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Liszt & Ligeti"
The final concert in Dallas Symphony Orchestra's 2022/2023 classical series will be "Liszt & Ligeti," featuring conductor Jaime Martin and pianist George Li. The program will include Ligeti's Concert Românesc für Orchester, Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major for Piano and Orchestra, and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Bush in concert with Our Lady Peace
British rock band Bush is a rarity in the music industry, in that they've consistently been more popular in the United States than their native country. Their debut albums, 1994's Sixteen Stone, went to No. 4 on the Billboard 200, but only No. 42 in the UK, a trend that has remained the same throughout their career. They'll honor that special relationship with U.S. fans at this concert at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, which is in support of their 2022 album, The Art of Survival. They will be joined by Our Lady Peace.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents No Sex Please, We're British
A young bride who lives above a bank with her husband, who is the assistant manager, innocently sends a mail order off for some Scandinavian glassware. What comes is Scandinavian pornography. The matter is considerably complicated by the man's mother, his boss, a visiting bank inspector, a police superintendent, and a muddled friend who does everything wrong in his reluctant efforts to set everything right, all of which works up to a hilarious ending of closed or slamming doors. The production runs through June 11 at Richardson Theatre Centre.

Jess Garland presents Luminescence
Part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project series, Luminescence is a performance featuring Jess Garland on a laser-harp created by frequent collaborator Eric Trich. The performance shows the connection between light, sound, and visual arts. There will be three performances through Sunday at Wyly Theatre.

Saturday, May 27

Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair
Taking the place of the now-defunct Deep Ellum Arts Festival, the inaugural Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair seeks to highlight the wide variety of artists, performers, and entertainers in the Dallas area. Taking place through Monday, the event will be filled with curated exhibits, concerts, and food showcasing the talent and businesses inside of the community. The layout of the fair will run down Crowdus Street to bring more foot traffic to Deep Ellum businesses.

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More Parks for Dallas

Dallas' Klyde Warren Park to add new pavilion, lawn and seasonal ice rink

Rendering of ice rink on the new Jacobs Lawn at Klyde Warren Park

Image courtesy of Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation

The new Jacobs Lawn at Klyde Warren Park will transform into an ice rink during the winter.

Downtown Dallas' Klyde Warren Park is planning a nearly two-acre expansion over two sections of Woodall Rogers Freeway, adding on a new lawn space, event pavilion, seasonal ice rink, and more.

Announced Monday, June 29, the 1.7-acre expansion will increase the park from 5.4 acres to 7.1 acres, extending it west toward Field Street while covering the final recessed portion of the freeway.

Construction is expected to begin before the end of 2026 and take approximately 24 months to complete.

Here's a closer look at the expansion plans, revealed in a press release:

Park officials say the portion west of Akard Street will feature The Jacobs Lawn, a 37,000-square-foot multi-use green space designed for festivals, markets, performances, civic celebrations, and more.

Klyde Warren Park expansion rendering of The Jacobs Lawn The expansion of Klyde Warren Park will include the new Jacobs Lawn. Image courtesy of Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation

During the winter months, the lawn will transform into an outdoor ice-skating rink, with additional seasonal programming planned throughout the year.

Adjacent to the lawn, the Overlook will allow guests to view city traffic as cars disappear right underneath them, driving home the point of how the park was built on top of one of the busiest freeways in Texas.

Rendering of The Overlook near The Jacobs Lawn at Klyde Warren Park The Jacobs Lawn portion of the expansion of Klyde Warren Park will include The Overlook where visitors can watch traffic pass by. Image courtesy of Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation

Built on the section between Akard Street and St. Paul Street will be a two-level enclosed glass-and-steel pavilion, complete with an open-air rooftop area.

The building will feature approximately 24,000 square feet of climate-controlled event and reception space, along with the 8,000-square-foot rooftop terrace.

Rendering of rooftop pavilion on new glass-and-steel pavilion at Klyde Warren Park A new glass-and-steel pavilion at Klyde Warren Park will include an open-air rooftop pavilion. Image courtesy of Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation

"Fourteen years ago, many people questioned whether building a deck park over a freeway was even possible," said Jody Grant, chairman of Klyde Warren Park, in a statement. "Today, Klyde Warren Park stands as proof of what can happen when a community believes in a bold vision. This expansion isn't simply about adding acreage. It's an investment in Dallas, an investment in the community and an investment in future generations."

Archer Western, the same firm that built the Park's original deck structure, has been awarded the construction contract by the Texas Transportation Commission.

While most traffic patterns surrounding the new sections appear to be unaffected, renderings show that a dedicated U-turn at Akard Street will be eliminated for the Jacobs Lawn portion.

While construction is underway, the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation will launch the next phase of its private fundraising campaign to support the amenities, programming, and experiences that will activate the expanded park upon its completion.

"Klyde Warren Park demonstrates what thoughtful private-public partnerships can accomplish," said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert in a statement. "Since opening, the Park has supported the generation of hundreds of millions in incremental tax revenue for the City of Dallas. But beyond the numbers, it has created a place where neighborhoods connect, businesses invest and communities come together. This expansion will continue to strengthen our urban core for generations to come."

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