Cheap and Free Events in Dallas This Week

Thursday
Director Tim Burton is probably better known among moviegoers for Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands, but his big screen adaptation of Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish is one of his most breathtaking works. A dying father known for telling larger-than-life stories prompts his son to find out the truth behind all of them just as he is about to bring a new life into the world. Thank goodness Broadway decided to turn this film into Burton’s first musical adaptation. It deserves to be told onstage as well as screen. The Junior Players are putting on their adaptation of this touching story at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St. Tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens, can be purchased at juniorplayers.org. Moody Performance Hall, 2530 Flora St., 8 p.m., $10 and up, juniorplayers.org. — Danny Gallagher

Friday
Austin band Tomar and the FCs takes soul music to the next level. Since 2015, the band has been a mainstay in its genre with energy to spare. Lead singer Tomar Williams puts his blood, sweat and tears into each performance, making it almost impossible not to get up and dance along. Three Links, 2704 Elm St., 9 p.m., $10-$12, threelinksdeepellum.com. — Diamond Victoria

For more than 35 years, Denton-based Brave Combo has been delighting us with its wonderfully original polka and off-kilter approaches to classics such as The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," along with original salsa, cha-cha-cha, samba, cumbia and plenty of other musical styles. The Grammy Award-winning band has received plenty of national attention with numerous albums but is no stranger to the small venues of North Texas. And while the search is still on for missing member Joe Cripps, Brave Combo continues to play for those who love the music. Dan's Silverleaf, 103 Industrial St., 4 p.m., $10, danssilverleaf.com. — Diamond Victoria

Saturday
Chances are you’ve got a couple of boxes stacked away in your attic or a storage space that are filled with your favorite playthings from your childhood. Chances are they’re not sadly feeling the time pass, listening to depressing Randy Newman songs and waiting to be loved by a child again. But you never really know. Bring them to the North Dallas Toy Show and see if they are worth anything. This monthly gathering of toy collectors features more than 50 dealer tables with new and used toys from all eras of play, with everything from flash Hot Wheels cars to hard-to-find Barbie dolls and accessories. Guests can even win special collectible prizes in hourly raffles. Collectors put their best playthings on display the first Saturday of every month at the Dallas Events Center, 4343 Sigma Road, Suite 600, in Farmers Branch. The next toy show will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $2, and kids younger than 12 get in for free with an adult ticket. Visit northdallastoyshow.wixsite.com for more information. Dallas Events Center, 4343 Sigma Road, Suite 600, Farmers Branch, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., $2, northdallastoyshow.wixsite.com. — Danny Gallagher

Sunday
Star Wars: The Last Jedi left many viewers with a lot of questions. I can’t decide if I loved it or hated it, yet I keep thinking about it, wondering why director-screenwriter Rian Johnson made some of the film’s head-scratching plot decisions, why certain characters died in the ways they did and what happens next. The conversation onstage during Nerd Fight Strikes Back: A Star Wars Panel Discussion will probably be more enthusiastic and will certainly be better-informed than the arguments I’ve had in my head about whether it was really a good movie. Mark Walters (bigfanboy.com), Devin Pike (fandom expert and convention emcee), James Wallace (Alamo Drafthouse), Justina Walford (Studio Movie Grill, Women Texas Film Festival), Shannon Sutlief (The Dallas Morning News) and Jazmine Dudley (Pretty Brown & Nerdy) will talk fandom, nerdism and Star Wars at the panel, which is free to attend at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (sandwiched between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. screenings of The Last Jedi). Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 4:30 p.m., free, thetexastheatre.com. — Jesse Hughey