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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.
Monday, Aug. 24
Strip on The Strip
The Mining Company, 3903 Cedar Springs Road
Some of your favorite Oak Lawn bar staff are putting in overtime this week, performing amateur burlesque-adjacent routines to earn tips that’ll go into a fund that supports crew members at six different Gayborhood bars when they fall on hard times. Who says fundraisers can’t also be fun?!
Tuesday, Aug. 25
Training Camp Cowboys Night & Open Practice
Ford Center, 9 Cowboys Way, Frisco
The Boys are back from their three-week retreat to Oxnard this week, and you can welcome them back home by watching a pair of open practices Tuesday and Wednesday at their HQ in Frisco. A post-practice tailgate and drone show will further get you ready to buy in yet again. Both are free to attend.
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Girl Dinner
Dallas Marriott Downtown, 650 N Pearl St.
The Downtown hotel is hopping on the hashtag Girl Dinner trend by hosting a ladies’ night featuring specials on margaritas, tacos, chips and salsa, and churros. Not sure it quite fits the definition, but, hey, it beats housing a fistful of olives and a stick of string cheese hunched over the kitchen sink. It’s just $35 for three courses, none of which you have to cobble together yourself.
Thursday, Aug. 27
Lil Wayne: “20 Years of Carter Classics”
Dickies Arena, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth
It’s been two decades since Young Tune has been dropping entries in his legendary series of “Tha Carter” records. This retrospective will celebrate the entire run, with extra emphasis on entries “III” and “IV.” On top of that, the greatest rapper of all time is bringing along fellow heavyweight 2 Chainz to help celebrate his GOAT catalog. Tickets start at $57.
The Protomen
Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave.
Between Thursday and Saturday, Nashville prog/noise outfit The Protomen will perform all three acts of their “Mega Man” space rock opera, each getting its own dedicated night and entirely different set of openers. Tickets are $45 per show. Heads up, if you’re going to all three, they are playing “Act II” on Thursday, and “Act I” on Friday before finishing with the recently released “Act III: This City Made Us” on Saturday.
Spikes Under the Lights
AT&T Stadium, 1 AT&T Way, Arlington.
Four of the nation’s top women’s volleyball programs — including our very own SMU Mustangs — will compete in a little mini tournament to potentially earn $1 million prize pot for their respective programs. We’re told it’s the largest-ever awarded prizee in women’s college sports history. Tickets start at $10, depending on how far away you are willing to be from the action.
Intro to Cyanotype: Wearable Archives
South Dallas Cultural Center, 3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave.
The same chemical reaction that once brought blueprints to life in the 1800s now turns modern clothing into striking, one-of-a-kind wearable art. Bring a blank white garment and a design to the South Dallas Cultural Center, and Jessica Taylor will guide you through a hands-on introduction to the age-old process. Your $34 ticket includes a blank T-shirt and the light-sensitive iron salt solution you’ll need to bring your design to life.
Friday, Aug. 28
Nick Thune
Dallas Comedy Club, 3036 Elm St.
The guitar-wielding stand-up has popped up in movies like “Knocked Up” and “Extract,” as well as numerous appearances on “The Tonight Show” over the years. But the next place he’ll pop up is down in Deep Ellum, where he’ll be for four shows spread over Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $32.
Charley Crockett
Billy Bob’s Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth
According to one of the all-time great classic country songs, “Satan is real, working in spirit / You can see him and hear him in this world every day.” But the one place you won’t find him this weekend is over in The Stockyards, where neo-classic country crooner Charley Crockett will be self-righteously plying his craft both Friday and Saturday nights. Hail, Satan? Not him, Jack. GA tickets are going for $35.
“The Room” with Greg Sestero Live
The Texas Theatre, 231 W Jefferson Blvd.
Oh hi, Mark! But, like, literally. The man that now-meme-worthy line was said to in notoriously terrible film “The Room” will make a special appearance at this screening of said shit show. But it’s also more than that. To mark the 23rd anniversary of its original release, the Texas Theatre is throwing a full blown party featuring behind the scenes stories and a live script reading. Let the spoons fly! Tickets are $28.
Los Tres Cabezones
Artstillery, 723 Fort Worth Ave.
The three-part bilingual festival will feature a trio of performance art pieces, each of which deals with identity and liberation in one way or another. Local performers Meagan Harris, Armando Monsivais and Bismark Quintanilla Jr. traveled to Spain earlier this year where they worked on their new solo shows. Admission is $18.
Saturday, Aug. 29
Last Splash Bash
Lee Harvey’s Dive-In, 1315 Beaumont St.
Meteorological summer ends on Monday, Aug. 31, meaning this could be your last major pool party of the year. Before sticking a pin in one of the hottest summers of all time, head over to The Cedars for a “final” round of poolside cocktails and live music before we all start gaslighting ourselves into believing cooler temps are just around the corner. It’s $30 to get in.
Pretty in Pink Pool Party
4123 Cedar Springs Apartments, 4123 Cedar Springs Rd.
We must admit, some looming cooler weather does sound quite fabulous. So, too, does this glammed up take on the end-of-summer shindig. Bring your own booze and join Sister Katya Lookin’ Ho for this bedazzled poolside party. Your suggested $20 donation to get in will benefit Pride in Dallas. It might be your last chance to raise a little hell while it is still hot as Hades outside.
Sunday, Aug. 30
Dallas Card Fest
South Side Ballroom, 1135 Botham Jean Blvd.
Whether you’re looking for a Cooper Flagg rookie card or a foil Charizard, you’re bound to find it among the 200 tables of vendors setting up at this Dallas-sized collectibles show. This one runs Friday through Sunday, with tickets going for $10. Parking not included. Gotta catch ‘em all!
Continuing Events
Treasures of the Pharaohs, through September 2027
Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth
On display into next year, over 130 Egyptian artifacts from Dynasty I (3100 BC) to the Ptolemaic period (321 BC) are at the Kimbell. In the museum’s words: “Organized into six thematic sections, the exhibition examines the pharaohs’ authority, the people who served them, religious beliefs, everyday life, the recently discovered “Golden City,” and ancient Egyptian funerary traditions. Monumental granite sculptures, elegantly designed gold jewelry, carved and painted stone stele, lavishly decorated sarcophagi.” The museum is free, but tickets for special exhibits can be reserved ahead of time.
