Best Things To Do in Dallas This Week

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. 

It’s a phenomenal week for film buffs. 

Monday, April 20

April Movie Nights Downtown – Crazy Rich Asians
7:30 p.m., Civic Garden, 1014 Main St.
Once a week in April, Downtown Dallas converts Civic Garden from a low-traffic steel park in the center of a business district to a laid-back lawn movie venue. This week’s screening is Crazy Rich Asians. The movie starts at 7:30 p.m., but you can start setting up your blanket or chairs an hour early. Bring snacks, and with all the rain this weekend, some bug repellent for good measure. The screening is free, and more information can be found on the neighborhood’s website.

Tuesday, April 21

Opera Scenes Music Concert
7:30 p.m., Dallas College – Richland Campus, 12800 Abrams Road
We at the Observer hold two core beliefs: art is essential to life and things are better when they’re free. With these guiding principles, we bring you to the Opera Scenes Music Concert at Dallas College’s Richland Campus. The student showcase will offer a glimpse into some of the most talented young voices in Dallas. And it’s free. Now go find some elbow gloves because there’s no reason you can’t enjoy an opera on a budget.

Wednesday, April 22

56th Annual USA Film Festival
Angeika Film Center, 5321 E Mockingbird Lane, #230
Frequently, our film scene is underrated, but those in the know realize Dallas has the makings to be one of the premier spots to be in if you have dreams of being a professional extra. But it’s not just Taylor Sheridan who sees the potential. The city produces the USA Film Festival, and has been for many years. This year’s event is at the Angelika Film Center from April 22 – 26. The entire festival is free and mostly showcases documentaries and short films. This year’s most noteworthy screenings are a Wednesday showing of a documentary about famed fashion photographer Arthur Elgort, produced by his son. A full schedule can be found online.

Insane Clown Posse
8 p.m., The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St.
The world is full of clowns; what’s a few more? In actuality, clowns are having a moment in the cultural sphere, with pierrot themes popping up across the zeitgeist. The Insane Clown Posse has built a cult-like following drawn to its unconventional musical style and aesthetic. The fan base, known as the juggalos, is notorious for being exclusive and hesitant to include outsiders. But going to a show may be the best first step in the initiation procedures. Just make sure that if you do go, you wear waterproof face paint. Tickets are $94.

Thursday, April 23

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
7 p.m. Norma Young Arena Stage 2688 Laclede St.
Why aren’t there more odd little men with pencil mustaches and accents on homicide squads in U.S. police departments? Got a mysterious death with tons of suspects? Put them on the case, and they’ll wrap it up in no time. Granted, they’re more experienced solving cases involving the upper classes and might not be quite as familiar with, say, a drug-house murder, but it’d be interesting to see them try. Sadly, you’ll never see Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot whip out a 9mm and shout, “Hands, motherfucker! Hands!” Homicide, Life in the Drawing Room doesn’t exactly do it for us, but Agatha Christie has legions of fans. They can see her novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, adapted by Theatre Three. Poirot is back on a case involving a wealthy victim stabbed in his study, of course, blackmail and, also of course, a surprise twist. Performances continue through May 10. Tickets for Thursday’s show are $40, but if you arrive an hour early on Thursdays, Theatre Three sells box-office tickets for just $10.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival
10 a.m., 2511 FM 66, Waxahachie
Any festival that gives us a chance to gnaw giant smoked turkey legs gets a huzzah in our book, even if they are a touch anachronistic. (Turkey legs were not a common fare among English villagers in the 16th century. They were more of the porridge-and-brown-bread set. And dying of the plague and scurvy.) Prithee, let us not fret ourselves with trifles. Instead, enjoy Renaissance-costumed jugglers, acrobats and musicians, artisans crafting glass, pottery and metalworks, along with more cosplay than a comics convention. Celebrate. Any day without Black Death is a good day, if you take the long view (and your initials aren’t RFK Jr.). The festival runs weekends and Memorial Day through May 25. General admission tickets are $36.72 for adults, with discounts for kids and additional fees for several special events throughout the festival’s run.

Fetish Ball Presents: Sadistic Saturday
8 p.m., The Kessler,1230 W. Davis St.
Feeling freaky? Own an irregular amount of latex with nowhere to wear it? Or perhaps a seasoned dominator looking for their next thrill? Head over to the Kessler for Sadistic Saturday hosted by professional dominatrix Athena Fatale. The domina will bring her notorious wheel of pain, a Wheel of Fortune-style spinner that offers pain and no money. Get publicly caned or whipped on stage in front of all your friends. Fetish gear encouraged. Tickets are $30.

Sunday, April 26

Garden Chef Series
11 a.m. – 1 p.m., A Tasteful Place at the Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Rd.
Foodies unite. The Dallas Arboretum hosts a weekly Sunday series featuring a resident chef who highlights seasonal fruit and veggies in a delectable snack. This week’s menu features Swiss chard stems and berry agrodolce. They’ll even reveal all their secrets and tell you exactly how to do it at home. The event is technically free, but you’ll have to pay the Arbotetum’s regular $26 general admission fee.

Y2K Underground Market
5 p.m., Three Links, 2704 Elm St.
If fashion prediction analysts are correct, trends recycle every 20 years, which means it’s time to dress like it’s 2006. We never thought paperboy hats and dresses over jeans would come back, but it looks like we’re not a people keen on learning from our mistakes. Three Links will have everything Y2K at a late-night market this Sunday. There will be live performers, lots of Lisa Frank-inspired wear and at least one person in wired headphones. The event is free, but 21+ after 10:15 p.m. Minors must pay a $5 entry fee at all times.

Tulip Season at Texas-Tulips, through early April
10656 FM 2931, Pilot Point
Tiptoe through the tulips (if you get that reference, you’re old, BTW) at Texas-Tulips in Pilot Point, where you can stroll among fields of 1 million of the short-blooming harbingers of spring and cut your picks to bring home. It’s open 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily regardless of weather, and admission is $7 per person. The fields will close when the blooms are too picked, usually ending in early April.

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.