The lineup of events in and around Dallas this weekend is so jam-packed this weekend that we're going to break with form and present them by categories instead of dates. With festivals, theater, music, and dance filling up every day, there's no way you can say there's nothing to do.
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.
Fall festivals
37th Annual GrapeFest
The 37th Annual GrapeFest features a variety of events over four days, including the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, live music from headliners David Lee Murphy and Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips fame, vendors, artisans, a Kid Zone, Carnival Midway, pickleball, and more. The festival takes place Thursday-Sunday at Historic Downtown Grapevine.
PARK(ing) Day Dallas
PARK(ing) Day is an annual global celebration during which metered parking spaces are converted into temporary public installations called "parklets." Main Street in Downtown Dallas will serve as the epicenter of the event, while nearby Pegasus Plaza will have live music and entertainment throughout the day on Thursday.
Addison Oktoberfest
At Addison Oktoberfest, visitors can enjoy a taste of the original Bavarian celebration with a purely Texan twist. It will feature four days of revelry in German culture, food, and bier. Guests can also experience the sound of polka bands and other traditional entertainers on multiple stages, and participate in special games. The festival takes place Thursday-Sunday at Addison Circle Park.
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Autumn at the Arboretum
The 18th annual Autumn at the Arboretum, with the theme of "It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," will feature themed pumpkin houses in the Pumpkin Village, a hay bale maze, and plenty of special events. The festival features 100,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash hailing from the pumpkin capital of Texas, Floydada, and 150,000 beautiful fall blooming plants throughout the garden. The event, which opens on Saturday, takes place daily through November 5.
Performing arts productions
Echo Theatre and Soul Rep Theatre Company presents Cadillac Crew
On the day of a much-anticipated speech by Rosa Parks during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, four activists working in a Virginia civil rights office wonder whether the proclamation of equality amongst mankind includes women. Cadillac Crew reclaims the stories of the forgotten leaders who blazed the trail for desegregation and women’s rights and asks: when will the world be ready to embrace women in all their capacity? A regional premiere co-produced by Echo Theatre and Soul Rep Theatre Company, the production runs through September 30 at Bath House Cultural Center.
The Firehouse Theatre presents The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a musical comedy which depicts a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre. In the kooky, upside-down world of the Addams Family, to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy, and death and suffering are the stuff of their dreams. The production runs through October 1 at The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Banch.
Shakespeare Dallas presents Shakespeare in the Park: King Lear
Depicting a once-great ruler's descent into madness, King Lear is one of the most powerful tragedies ever staged. King Lear has ruled for many years. As age overtakes him, he divides his kingdom amongst his children. Misjudging their loyalty, he soon finds himself stripped of all the trappings of state, wealth, and power that had defined him. Lear is faced with the harsh reality that the daughter he has banished is the only one that can save him and his kingdom from destruction. The production runs through October 15 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater.
Repertory Company Theatre presents Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None
Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. As the weather turns and the group is cut off from the mainland, the bloodbath begins and one by one they are brutally murdered in accordance with the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme. The production, which starts on Friday, runs through September 24 at Repertory Company Theatre in Richardson.
Texas Ballet Theater presents Dracula
For the premiere production of its 2023-2024 season, Texas Ballet Theater will enter the terrifying domain of the legendary vampire, whose insatiable bloodlust wrecks horror and destruction on his unwitting victims. The production, which is suitable for mature audiences, will have four performances, Friday through Sunday, at Winspear Opera House.
Music
Tenacious D in concert
Over the past 20 years, Jack Black has led two lives. In one, he's the actor known for movies like High Fidelity, School of Rock, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In the other, he's part of the comedy rock duo Tenacious D with fellow actor Kyle Gass. While they've never reached the heights of someone like "Weird Al" Yankovic, they've maintained a loyal following that's allowed them to release four albums, including 2018's Post-Apocalypto. They'll play at Texas Trust CU Theatre on Thursday as part of their Spicy Meatball Tour.
Drake in concert with 21 Savage
You can't get much bigger than rapper Drake. After coming to fame as a TV star in his native Canada, he switched gears to a music career in late 2000s. Thanks to a series of acclaimed mixtapes, his 2010 debut album, Thank Me Later, went to No. 1 in both Canada and the United States, a position he hasn't given up through seven subsequent albums. That includes Her Loss, a 2022 collaborative album with 21 Savage, with whom he'll perform in two concerts at American Airlines Center on Thursday and Friday.
Lila Downs in Concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Lila Downs, one of the most influential artists in Latin America, joins the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to showcase her unique voice. Her own compositions combine genres and rhythms as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros, jazz standards, hip-hop, cumbia, and popular American music. Frequently, her lyrics focus on justice, immigration and issues unique to women. There will be performances on both Friday and Saturday at Meyerson Symphony Center.
Dwight Yoakam in concert
Country singer Dwight Yoakam didn't hit it big until he was 30, but the success he's had in the past 30+ years made up for the lack in the first half of his life. He's released 17 albums in his career, most recently 2016's Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars, and only a handful of those failed to reach the top 10 on the country charts. He'll go through his long list of hits in this concert on Friday at Texas Trust CU Theatre.
Comedy
Hyena's presents Bobcat Goldthwait
Bobcat Goldthwait's career dates back to the 1980s, when he had one of the most recognizable voices in comedy. He's ditched that unusual way of speaking, but his stand-up still features hilarious riffs on politics, divorce, going broke, and his career as a writer and director of film. He'll perform twice on Friday at Hyena's at Mockingbird Station in Dallas.
Hyena's presents Tim Meadows
The big weekend at Hyena's continues on Saturday when actor, comedian, and writer Tim Meadows will also perform twice. Meadows was one of the longest-running cast members on Saturday Night Live, where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. He's gone on to be a reliable character actor in both movies and TV.
Majestic Theatre presents Hannah Berner
The 32-year-old Hannah Berner may not be as well-known as the other comedians in town this weekend, but she's established a growing fanbase thanks to her two podcasts, Giggly Squad and Berning In Hell, serving as a cohost on Bravo’s Chat Room, and as a member of Bravo’s Summer House for three seasons. She'll perform at Majestic Theatre on Saturday.
Iliza Shlesinger: Hard Feelings World Tour
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger is known for her high energy shows that deliver laughs wrapped up in poignant, thought-provoking ideas. Over the last decade, she has released six Netflix stand up specials, including Hot Forever (2022), Unveiled (2019), Elder Millennial (2018), Confirmed Kills (2016), Freezing Hot (2015), and War Paint (2013). She'll bring her Hard Feelings World Tour to Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie on Saturday.
American Airlines Center presents Jo Koy
Comedian Jo Koy comes to Dallas fresh off a big 2022, when he released both a film, Easter Sunday, and his new Netflix special, Jo Koy: Live From The Los Angeles Forum. As one of today’s premiere stand-up comedians, he has come a long way from his modest beginnings performing in a Las Vegas coffee house. He'll follow the Drake concerts, performing at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
Majestic Theatre presents Marlon Wayans
Actor, producer, comedian, writer, and director Marlon Wayans has had an enviably long career, with much of it thanks to collaborations with other members of the Wayans family. He premiered his first-ever comedy special, Woke-ish, on Netflix in 2018, hosted a week's worth of shows for The Daily Show earlier this year, and had a cameo in the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck movie, Air. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre on Sunday.
Addison Oktoberfest takes place at Addison Circle Park, September 14-17.
