You’ve seen those Christmas trees on advertisements, on Pinterest and maybe on the Facebook page of that friend you have who fancies herself an interior designer: monochromatic, modern and cool. The tinsel is symmetric; the lights, perfectly twinkling. There are no crappy salt dough ornaments contributed by 3-year-olds. No Borg spaceships that followed your husband from his childhood... Read more about this event >>
Denton’s holiday festival is beloved by its residents, and for good reason. The annual Holiday Lighting event is practically a one-stop-shop for every holiday experience you could want. Santa will be on hand to take pictures with kids and immature adults, along with horse-drawn carriage rides around the town square, crafts, and (of course) the annual tree lighting. To add to the holiday... Read more about this event >>
Even if you don’t really give a damn about the holiday season, you can still celebrate Festivus. Even better, you can celebrate Festivus with an evening of burlesque. Presented by Viva Dallas Burlesque, Festivus Follies promises an evening of great burlesque from some of the country’s best dancers, including Minneapolis’ Red Bone and Houston’s cheekily named Tila... Read more about this event >>
The guy that wrote that “Tap Your Troubles Away” song was on to something. Despite the racket that it conjures up, it’s the very definition of “joyful noise”—a spirited rat-a-tat that elicits a smile with every shuffle-step. And it’s worth noting that the art form behind the cheerful hoofing has a storied history, blending cultures from Africa to the... Read more about this event >>
In the dark underbelly of the North Pole lives a legion of elves deeply, deeply dissatisfied with their lot in life. They’ve let themselves go — bulbous bellies poke out from under their elf apparel, unseemly hair pokes out from their trademark ears and their complexions have undertones of “don’t give a rat’s ass.” It’s a sad state of affairs, but it... Read more about this event >>
Ryan Adams hasn’t played Dallas since 2007 and this show sold out as soon as tickets went on sale. After starting Whiskeytown, a band that unapologetically tried to mimic American Music Club sans gay frontman sporting a unibrow, Adams has been trying to beat the sun, recording at a furious pace and living life as variously as possible. Since that 2007 show, Adams married the poor... Read more about this event >>
With roots firmly tied to Southern blues rock, Dallas’ the Roomsounds are all at once an ode to the past and the south itself. Upbeat guitar riffs and lyrics full of nonchalant melancholy power the band. The obvious influences of Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin rear their head in a comforting manner. Their self-titled debut album from 2012 is full of the band’s... Read more about this event >>
A study from the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research classified cheerleading as the most dangerous sport for athletes. It claimed that forcing humans to defy the laws of gravity and physics caused injuries more serious than those sustained by football players. So where did roller derby fall into that study? You know, that sport in which athletes with names that sound like... Read more about this event >>
If there is one celebrity marriage we’re all betting on, it’s the storied union of Santa and Mrs. Claus. Those crazy kids have made it work for what’s practically an eternity, frolicking under mistletoe, sharing untold numbers of cookies, and — like all healthy couples — passing judgment on everyone around them. However, they likely have their own frost-covered... Read more about this event >>
It's deja vu all over again in WaterTower Theatre's black box. The charming actor Garrett Storms who delighted audiences as the angry elf in David Sedaris' one-man-show based on his short story, The Santaland Diaries, returns to the stage in the same peppermint stockings. This gut-bustingly funny story of a struggling actor who begrudingly takes a job working as a Christmas elf at a Macy's... Read more about this event >>
As a child nothing was more exciting on Thanksgiving morning than to rush to the television and watch the floats and balloons march through the streets of New York City. Plus, who didn't love the Broadway dance breaks? My mom would make hot chocolate and breakfast, and I'd rummage through the newspaper advertisements mapping out my Christmas list. Now that I'm an adult, I'm not sure I... Read more about this event >>
Klyde Warren Park, that lovely little downtown green space lights up this weekend in Christmas colors. The highly photographable tree will be lit by Santa himself at the culmination of the daytime, family evet, Celebrate the Holidays at Klyde Warren Park. Snap a shot with Mr. Claus, feed a live reindeer a carrot stick, or participate in one of the other crafts or activities happening... Read more about this event >>
Hundreds of drunk Santas roaming Dallas sounds like the beginning of a scary Christmas movie. Unless of course you’re in on the drinking, too. Starting at 4 p.m. Saturday at Mockingbird Station, you can meet with other people who want to drink away the holidays for a Santa Rampage. This year, however,drinking and then walking bar to bar isn’t enough. Santas need to dance. Yes,... Read more about this event >>
Rapper/DJ tandem Blackalicious will be taking the stage at the Granada Theater this weekend in anticipation of the impending 2015 release of Emoni, their first album in a decade. MC Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel are often likened to West Coast collectives the Pharcyde and Jurrasic 5 for their shared brand of Afrocentric, message-oriented backpack rap. But don't let the kufi fool you,... Read more about this event >>
Lest we forget, galleries exist to sell art. Is the art often well-curated and the artists hand selected? Yes, of course. But they are shops, none the less. And in the spirit of the shopping season, and inspired by concept spaces like Collette in Paris and Dover Street Market which has locations in London and New York, Erin Cluley Gallery (414 Fabrication St.) presents El Mercado. It will... Read more about this event >>
All of your favorite local artists are set to perform at the showcase for the 26th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards, set to be at Deep Ellum’s hottest clubs. Performers include Blue, he Misfit, Son of Stan, Ishi, Sealion, Cutter, Pinkish Black, Sam Lao, Tunk, Hex Cult, Hares on the Mountain, Buffalo Black, Booty Fade, Sudie, Dustin Cavazos, Mayta, George Quartz, Yells at Eels,... Read more about this event >>
In most walks of life having a mentor makes things easier. They're there with advice when you ask for it, criticism when you're ready for it, and a kick in the pants when you need it most. The relationship between mentor/mentee is one of support and inspiration, especially in the art world. It's this special bond that will be on display in 500 X (500 Exposition Ave.) in the newest exhitbiion,... Read more about this event >>
It isn't Christmas without good tunes, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is one of the best places to hear your favorite holiday songs. At this performance, you'll hear all of your favorites performed by the Symphony's talented musicians, alongside with songs from beloved holiday movies. A troupe of dancers joins the DSO Pops performance this year, which means that it will be an even bigger... Read more about this event >>
In 1942, 17 Mexican -American teenagers were put on trial for the murder of Jose Gallardo Diaz. They were held in prison, without bail for months and nine of them were convicted of second-degree murder. Two years later, the convictions were reversed on appeal, but not before they served to incite the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. It was that trial, and those riots that served as the inspiration... Read more about this event >>
If you think art gallery exhibitions are snooty affairs, challenge your preconceptions this weekend. The Stewpot Art Program presents its annual exhibition, Food for the Soul, which features the work of homeless Dallas artists. In its opening reception from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, you can see the work and visit with the artists. And what is perhaps the best part of this exhibition is that 90% of the... Read more about this event >>
Flowers are nature’s beautifiers. We’ve appropriated them as tokens of affection or apology. We cut them from their roots and place them in vases to add color to our otherwise dull lives. Oh, and for centuries, we’ve painted them. Some of the 19th century’s greatest painters, including Cezanne, Manet and Courbet captured the vivid colors of flowers and their work is on... Read more about this event >>
The minimalism of Anna Bella Papp's clay sculptures force the viewer up close. It's as though she's invited onlookers into an intimate moment with the art. For the tiny amount of space they actually inhabit, they imply much larger ideas. The Nasher Sculpture Center gives Papp her first museum exhibition as part of its small-scale Sightings series. See her work alongside the midcareer... Read more about this event >>
In This Moment brings a little darkness to the City of Angels. The Los Angeles-based metal band’s debut album from 2006, Beautiful Tragedy, was an introduction the the band’s heavy sound and scored them some opening spots for metal royalty like Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie. Their 2012 album, Blood, climbed to the top of the U.S. hard rock charts. Currently, the... Read more about this event >>
The rambunctious young actors return to Wild Detectives with their iambic pentameter-spitting, high-energy free wheeling Shakespeare in the Bar. This time around they're churning out Love's Labour's Lost – Shakespeare's comedy about three young men who give up women for three years and then find themselves enamored with the Princess of Aquitaine and her ladies. Prepare yourself for an... Read more about this event >>
It’s time to start figuring out how you’re going to make time for all those memories this holiday season. Decide when you’re going to shoehorn in that visit with Santa; schedule your holiday cocktail experiments; find the time to bruise your tailbone at a nearby ice-skating rink. So much to do between now and Christmas Day—so much pressure to do the Yule right.... Read more about this event >>
Welcome to the age of the Millennial. It's the age in which a frail Swedish teen who waxes poetic about Pokemon and Arizona Ice Tea becomes an Internet, and in turn, an American sensation. Rapping on beat? Literally, nobody needs that shit. This is “based” and lucid rapping. Hear ye, hear ye, Yung Lean and his crew the “Sad Boys” have garnered a following even though... Read more about this event >>
Last year’s Sparkle event at the Hilton Anatole was a beautiful affair, all ice skating rinks, Christmas lights and time-consuming attractions for the youngsters. But there was one problem. What was generally sparkling was not so much the lights as the ice crystals forming on your eyeballs. Thanks to last year’s unseasonably cold weather, frostbite was an unintended main... Read more about this event >>
Christmas lights may be a holiday tradition, but they are kind of a mystery. Sure they can brighten up the darkest corner of the world just by draping them over a house but why are we so enamored by them? The technology that goes into making them hasn’t advanced that much unless there’s one that can produce holograms that are as good as the one that put 2Pac on stage at Coachella.... Read more about this event >>
If you've never seen the monstrous Lay Family Concert Organ, you're missing out. This week only, the Meyerson Symphony Center will fill with the sounds of holiday favorites played by the brass and percussion sections, featuring the organ herself. Hear the majesty of the instrument in the city's most stunning concert hall during the Organ and Brass Christmas Spectacular at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.... Read more about this event >>
Everyone has a story to tell and this week at Oral Fixation, five people will have a chance to tell their story to an eager audience. This month’s Oral Fixation show is “Outside The Box,” which will feature stories about thinking differently and some unconventional wisdom. Guests include April Swartz-Larson, a lesbian, who was recently crowned homecoming queen at McKinney... Read more about this event >>
It goes without saying that Ms. Lauryn Hill is deeply complicated both as an artist and a person. Fortunately, that generally makes for some incredible music. This performance at South Side Ballroom, originally scheduled for last month, was postponed without even an excuse. Still, people are perpetually excited to see Hill in concert, even though she's known for being a little hit-or-miss.... Read more about this event >>
In the grand scheme of Dallas’ holiday offerings, we have everything from big and bright lights to restaurant feasts with leftovers provided. But there are certain things that must be done on the annual: cruising Highland Park’s Christmas lights, visiting the ultimate natural Santa at NorthPark, visiting the Operation Kindness' Santa because — well, pets, and seeing the... Read more about this event >>
Whatever you do, don't take your 4th graders to The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical. It's a bit too raunchy for them, but if you're looking for a more adult holiday show on the list, give this one a whirl. Based on the The Great American Trailer Park Musical, the kooky residents of Armadillo Acres are described as being filled with "warmth and beer." If you don't have enough... Read more about this event >>
Before the Josh Grobans and Michael Bublés of the world, there was Andrea Bocelli. No musician has been more successful in bringing classical singing to the mainstream than Bocelli, who has seven albums to his credit that reached the Billboard Hot 200's Top 10. Bocelli is famous for his soaring tenor timbre and duets with everyone from Celine Dion to Mary J. Blige, but on his own he is... Read more about this event >>