Weekend Events Planner

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

Holiday event season always reaches its peak at Thanksgiving, and this year is no different, with seven different holiday-themed events starting or taking place this weekend. You can also get the weekend started early with a national theater production, an ice skating extravaganza, and two concerts.

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

Wednesday, November 22

Broadway Dallas presents MJ the Musical
The music. The moves. The icon. Now, the unparalleled artistry of the greatest entertainer of all time is featured in MJ, the Tony Award-winning new musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour. The production goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star, offering a rare look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted Michael Jackson into legendary status. The production runs through December 3 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Disney On Ice presents Find Your Hero
Disney On Ice returns with a new magical adventure, Find Your Hero, where audiences will discover what it truly means to be a hero as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and friends from around the Disney Kingdom come together to take families on a journey through timeless tales. The show features Mirabel from Encanto; Moana and Maui from Moana; Anna, Elsa, and Olaf from Frozen; and more. The production has eight performances through Sunday at Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen.

Joshua Ray Walker and Vandoliers present Friendsgiving with Jaret Ray Reddick
Joshua Ray Walker and Vandoliers will present a special co-headlining Friendsgiving concert. Walker is touring in support of his new album, What Is It Even?, while Vandoliers are touring in support of their new album, The Vandoliers. They'll be joined by Jaret Ray Reddick at Longhorn Ballroom.

The Polyphonic Spree in concert
It may be the holiday season, but the real reason for celebration for fans of The Polyphonic Spree is the release of their eighth album, Salvage Enterprise. This special show at Granada Theater will celebrate that album's release, although lead singer Tim DeLaughter and the choral rock group will surely delve into their deep catalog, too.

Thursday, November 23

Grand Prairie Parks, Arts and Recreation presents Prairie Lights
Prairie Lights is a two-mile, drive-through holiday park experience that showcases a display of more than 4 million lights arranged in hundreds of festive holiday scenes throughout the park. At the halfway point, guests can exit their vehicle to enjoy carnival rides, concessions, photos with Santa, the magical walk-thru forest, and holiday shopping. The second half of the drive ends with the new and improved light tunnel. The event takes place at Lynn Creek Park at Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie. (For a long list of the best Christmas lights this year, check out this story.)

Friday, November 24

Texas Christkindl Market
The 13th Annual Texas Christkindl Market is a traditional European-style market that brings the charm of German Christmas markets. Visitors will be immersed in a world of twinkling lights, decorations, food, and musical performances. The event takes place in the North Plaza at Globe Life Field through December 23.

Galleria Dallas presents Grand Tree Lighting Celebration
Galleria Dallas will present its annual Grand Tree Lighting Celebrations. Every show features the Missile Toes, Galleria’s ice-skating, back-flipping, pyrotechnic Santa Claus, live performances by Olympic and National Champion-ranked skaters, and local children who introduce the lighting of the country’s tallest indoor tree. There will be performances on both Friday and Saturday.

Heritage Farmstead Museum presents Lights on the Farm
At Lights on the Farm, guests will walk along a quarter-mile trail showcasing holiday light creations, animated displays, a 20-foot Christmas tree, refreshments, and a chance for the youngest guests to visit with Santa. There will also be plenty of selfie photo opportunities throughout the farm property of the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano. The event runs on weekends through December 30.

Chamberlain Ballet presents The Nutcracker
Chamberlain Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker will feature guest artists Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia from The New York City Ballet as The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Guests can immerse themselves in a world of waltzing snowflakes, marching toy soldiers, and the timeless tale of Clara and her Nutcracker Prince. There will be three performances through Sunday at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Stravinsky The Firebird"
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Thanksgiving concert, "Stravinsky The Firebird," features conductor Gustavo Gimeno and violinist Alexander Kerr. The program will include Tchaikovsky's Selections from The Nutcracker, Mozart's Concerto No. 5 for Violin and Orchestra, “Turkish,” and Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird (1945 Revision). There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
Featuring dazzling choreography and exquisite sets, The Nutcracker celebrates the season with enchantment, snowflakes, and sweets. Audiences can experience the most magical Christmas tradition of the season as Clara and her Nutcracker Prince battle an army of mice and travel through a winter wonderland to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Kingdom of Sweets. The production runs through December 3 at Winspear Opera House.

Photo by Steven Visneau

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker at Winspear Opera House, November 24-December 3.

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Animal News

Latest animal to die at Dallas Zoo is young male gorilla named Zola

Dallas Zoo

Zola RIP

Another animal at the Dallas Zoo has died an untimely death: Zola, a young Western lowland gorilla, died on Wednesday, November 5, at age 23.

The zoo does not know why Zola died. A necropsy will be performed. According to their post, Zola was euthanized after showing symptoms of lethargy, reduced appetite, and signs of discomfort at the end of October.

"Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to begin breathing on his own afterward, despite the extraordinary efforts of our veterinary and animal care teams," their post says. "With his comfort as our priority, we made the difficult decision to let him go peacefully."

The zoo did not announce Zola's death immediately, instead waiting two days until Friday afternoon at 3 pm. Politicians and government agencies prefer to choose Friday afternoons to post news that is negative or controversial, since fewer people, and definitely fewer journalists, are online on Friday afternoons. It's called the "Friday news dump."

The death is very inconvenient for the Dallas Zoo since they were just about to ship off their male gorillas, which also include Juba, B'Wenzi, and Zola's half-brother Shana, to the San Antonio Zoo. Animals are very dear to the zoo — until it's time to ship them off to another zoo.

For now, the relocation of the other three male gorillas is "temporarily on hold" but the zoo says they will be moved "when the time is right," and that is all you need to know about that.

The zoo has already said that they'll be shipping in other gorillas to replace them — although we do not know which gorillas and from where. The Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the overseeing body for zoos, only divulges that kind of intel on a "need to know" basis. Right now, you and I do not need to know. If we did know which gorillas were coming and where they were coming from, we might ask questions that would force the zoo to explain what it's up to.

Zola was born at the Bronx Zoo in 2002 and became internet famous as the "breakdancing gorilla" for splashing in pools and puddles. Some animal experts attributed his actions to frustration at being locked inside a zoo. He was relocated to the Calgary Zoo in 2009 when he was only 7 years old — zoos always play up what great bonds and family ties their animals have, until it's time to ship them somewhere else, and then suddenly the bonds and family ties don't matter.

Unfortunately, Zola did not "integrate well" at the Calgary Zoo, so he got shipped off to the Dallas Zoo in 2013.

At least now he won't have to be relocated again.

Death count
Zola's death is one more in a long-running series of deaths at the Dallas Zoo in recent years, the most previous being Jata, a 7-year-old painted dog who died in June 2024. Jata also showed signs of lethargy and decreased appetite, reportedly due to kidney disease.

Whenever a death occurs, they always wax on about their "extraordinary" veterinary and animal care teams — and yet, so many of these deaths were either unexplained or completely caught their teams by surprise.

Zola the Western lowland gorilla is the latest to join this death march of animals at the Dallas Zoo:

Jata, one of the zoo's three African painted dogs, died in June 2024, at seven years old.
Ferrell, a 15-year-old giraffe, died in December, 2023, following "an unexpected fall in the barn" that injured the giraffe's jaw so badly, they were forced to euthanize him.
Ajabu, a 6-year-old African elephant who died on May 8, 2023, from the herpes virus.
Pin, a 35-year-old lappet-faced vulture, died on January 22, 2023, cause unknown.
Jesse, a 14-year-old giraffe, died on October 29, 2021, cause unknown.
Auggie, a 19-year-old giraffe, died in late October 2021 of liver failure.
Marekani, a 3-month-old baby giraffe, sustained a mysterious injury and was euthanized on October 3, 2021.
Kirk, a 31-year-old chimpanzee, died in August 2021 due to "surprise" heart disease.
Keeya, a 6-year-old Hartmann's mountain zebra, died in March 2021 due to a mysterious unexplained head injury.
Subira, a 24-year-old silverback gorilla, died suddenly in March 2020, due to a cough, or maybe cardiovascular disease. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hope, a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla, died suddenly in November 2019 after being at the zoo for only two years.
Ola, an 8-year-old female African painted dog, was killed in July 2019 by two other painted dogs, less than a month after she was transferred to the zoo.
Witten, a 1-year-old giraffe, died in June 2019 during a physical exam under anesthesia when he suddenly stopped breathing.
Adhama, a baby hippopotamus, mysteriously died in 2018.
Kipenzi, a baby giraffe, died in 2015 after running in her enclosure.
Kamau, a young cheetah, died of pneumonia in 2014.
Johari, a female lion, was killed in front of zoo spectators in 2013 by male lions with whom she shared an enclosure.

And in February 2021, they lost a crow called Onyx who was part of their "animal ambassador team," "participating in a training session" for a bird show. He was never found.

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