Best Things To Do in Dallas This Week, May 11-17

This list is refreshed every week. Bookmark this page for weekly updates on arts and culture happenings in Dallas.

In a city this big, there’s something to do every single day of the week. How could there not be? Dallas is a destination for festivals, traveling art exhibitions, stand-up comedy circuits and literally everything in between. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a curated, weekly guide of top picks you won’t want to miss. And the ways to fill your schedule don’t stop here — check out our full events calendar for even more ways to get through the week in North Texas. 

This week has everything you could possibly want, and the best part is that a lot of it is free. 

Monday, May 11

“Pulp Fiction”
Sundown at Granada, 3520 Greenville Ave.
The Sundown at Granada loves to convert its rooftop bar area into a makeshift movie theatre. Each Monday, they screen a cult classic; this week’s feature is “Pulp Fiction.” The low-budget film, known for its 256 uses of a particular four-letter word and resurrecting John Travolta’s career, runs for 2.5 hours. The show will start at 8:15 p.m, but you can start fighting for your perfect seat at 6:30 p.m. The movie, which launched Quentin Tarantino to global recognition, has become a cultural mainstay. The movie poster adorns the walls of every pretentious film major’s dorm room and exists in the Top Four of every boy whose Letterboxd reviews reach 1,000 words. No RSVP needed.

Tuesday, May 12

Words Over Wine Open Mic
Chocolate Secrets, 3926 Oak Lawn Ave.
Words Over Wine has been operating as an open mic night for 10 years. The night pairs all the makings of the typical open mic with desserts and wine. The event, now hosted at Chocolate Secrets, has everything that’s good in this world: free art, chocolate and wine. This event is free, and if you really love it, it’s recently become a weekly occurrence, so we’ll see you on May 19 and 26, too.

Twelfth Night Wine Tasting
Encina, 614 W Davis St., Ste. #100
Tuesday is for wine lovers. Encina, a fusion restaurant with a damn good pierogi, is hosting a wine tasting benefiting the Junior Players, a nonprofit arts initiative that offers zero-cost opportunities to Dallas youth. The event advertises to be an evening “of rivalry, revelry, and remarkable pours.” With a wine tasting menu and a 150-minute run time, the night is sure to be Shakespearean. Tickets are $100.

Wednesday, May 13

“Wicked”
Music Hall at Fair Park, 909 1st Ave.
So much happened before Dorothy dropped into Oz (and before Ariana Grande dyed her hair blonde). The long-running Broadway musical that inspired the blockbuster film duology is coming back to Dallas, running at Music Hall at Fair Park from May 6 through June 14. Wicked tells the previously untold backstory of the powerful yet misunderstood Elphaba (“The Wicked Witch of the West” if you’re nasty), her college roommate-turned-best frenemy Glinda the Good and more iconic Wizard of Oz characters whose stories you only know the half of. Tickets and dates can be found online.

Thursday, May 14

“High Fidelity:” An Intimate Screening and Evening with John Cusack
Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora Street
John Cusack, the ’80s rom-com staple, will host a screening of “High Fidelity,” a rom-com that came out at the turn of the century. The movie is about Rob Gordon, played by Cusack, the manager of a vinyl record store who struggles to persist in a dying industry as he refuses to adapt to a changing music market. The performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2001. Tickets start at $37.

14th Annual Eric Nadel Birthday Benefit 
Longhorn Ballroom, 216 Corinth St.
Eric Nadel, Texas Rangers’ Hall of Fame sports broadcaster, is turning 75. To celebrate, two of his favorite bands, Sammy Rae & the Friends and Chuck Prophet and the Cumbia Shoes, will play a benefit show at the Longhorn Ballroom. All party prophets will benefit the Grant Halliburton Foundation, which provides mental health support and education to teens and families. Tickets start at $25.

Friday, May 15

Jackopierce – All Requests Show
Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave.
Jack O’Neil and Cary Pierce met as theatre students at Southern Methodist University. The two became go-to openers for artists like Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and the Dave Matthews Band. The band broke up in the late ’90s to the chagrin of Dallasites everywhere, then they got back together and sold out a string of Texas shows. Now their concerts are more sporadic, but you certainly won’t want to miss this one because the entire set is built from requests. The duo is only doing this for their hometown show, so get yourself a ticket.

‘Til Midnight at the Nasher
Nasher Sculpture Garden, 2001 Flora St.
If you haven’t been to the Nasher Sculpture Garden after hours, what are you still waiting for? The museum keeps the doors open once a month for a party. The Nasher lawn becomes the hottest spot in town with live music and a movie screening. Plus, if you’re a museum member, you get two complimentary drink tickets. The night will start with a set from rising hip-hop artist Pierce Washington, followed by funk artist Carter Ace. Then, a screening of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” will end the night right around midnight. The best part of this is that it’s free.

Saturday, May 16

Saturday Morning Bird Walk
Trinity River Aubudon Center, 6500 S Great Trinity Forest Way
Bird watching is the new black. We can get a little stir crazy in the concrete jungle that is Big D, and though the city does make every effort to give Dallas as much green space as possible, the mowed turf of Klyde Warren Park just isn’t the same as a lush forest. But make no mistake, the Blackland Prairie region that encompasses Dallas has one of the most scenic natural spaces within 150 miles of the Giant Eyeball. The Trinity River Aubudon Center is a beautiful building on the fringes of the Trinity River. Once the largest illegal dumping site in Texas, the Aubudon is a naturalist’s getaway. Every weekend, they host a bird walk with a local ornithophile. Tickets are $15.

The Drag Queen Game Show
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Cedars,1005 Botham Jean Boulevard
Have you always felt you would make a great game show guest? Well, now you can find out. This free show features two local drag queens, Daphne Rio and Kylee O’Hara, hosting their own games like Right on the Money, Florida or False, Musical Bingo and Couples Therapy. Participants are selected from the audience. Though the event is free, the only thing a drag queen loves more than herself is money, so bring your singles.

Sunday, May 17

Swan Lake
Bass Performance Hall, 525 Commerce St., Fort Worth
The Texas Ballet Theater (and just about every ballet company in the country) performs two shows each season: The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Both composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky have become recognizable beyond dance enthusiasts. The story follows a Prince who falls in love with a woman who is cursed by an evil sorcerer to transform into a swan each day. Meanwhile, the sorcerer tricks the prince into falling for his daughter, Odile. Thus, the unparalleled White Swan and Black Swan rivalry is born. For those who don’t know, the prima ballerina dances both the romantic and ethereal Odette and the staccato and abrasive Odile. The ballet is a spectacle and is typically considered the most challenging and rewarding role for any dancer. Few tickets remain for the final show this year.

Groundbreakers: Post-War Japan and Korea from the DMA Collection at The Crow Museum of Asian Art at UT Dallas, through July 26, 2026
If you missed it at the Dallas Arts District location of The Crow, now’s your chance to see Groundbreakers: Post-War Japan and Korea from the DMA Collection… and consider that second degree. The Crow Museum of Asian Art at UT Dallas offers up the fantastic exhibition that includes pieces created in fascinating ways: with feet, with a mouth, by pouring paint onto a canvas, and other methods that channeled convention after the considerably conventional 1950s. Don’t miss it. Find out more online.