This Mother's Day weekend will see two longtime local events return to business as usual following two years affected by the pandemic. There will also be a couple of new theater productions, classical music combined with acrobatics, stand-up comedy, two concerts, art comings and goings, and more.
Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events. Looking for Mother's Day brunch plans? Find that list here.
Thursday, May 5
Mayfest
For the first time since 2019, Mayfest will return just in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Featuring six unique areas of excitement and fun, the four-day festival at Trinity Park includes attractions, food and beverage, an expanded carnival, live music and entertainment, and fun for the whole family. The Grand Opening event on Thursday will feature Fort Worth leaders and voices of Mayfest past recognizing the efforts of individuals and organizations that have grown the festival into what it is today.
Four Day Weekend presents All About Bette: An Interlude with Bette Davis
Morgana Shaw stars as Bette Davis in All About Bette: An Interlude with Bette Davis. Shaw invokes Davis to guide the audience through the early years of finding her voice against a male-run Hollywood, four turbulent marriages, motherhood, and even her personal prescription for the challenges posed by aging as she worked through her seventies and up until her death at age 81. The production will play weekly on Thursdays (with a couple of special Sunday performances) through June 30 at Four Day Weekend Theater.
Friday, May 6
Magnolia at the Modern: The Duke
In 1961, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a 60-year-old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. He sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on the condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. The film will screen six times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Read our review here.
Countdown to the Cliburn: Rachel Cheung
Countdown to the Cliburn is a series of community concerts taking place at venues across Dallas-Fort Worth, leading up to the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, taking place June 2-18. This concert at The Trailhead at Clearfork will present 2017 finalist and audience award winner Rachel Cheung. Cheung will also perform in the Near Southside neighborhood on May 21.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Troupe Vertigo: Cirque Carnaval
Fusing together elements of cirque acrobatics, classical dance, and contemporary theater, Troupe Vertigo will present a spellbinding journey through the world of artistic movement. Troupe Vertigo will highlight world-class aerial artists, contortionists, and ballet dancers. The orchestra, conducted by Stuart Chafetz, will put on three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
Theatre Arlington presents The Piano Lesson
Theatre Arlington presents The Piano Lesson, winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama & Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play. It is 1936, and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he must come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister, and it sits in her living room. Boy Willie tries to persuade his stubborn sister that the past is past, but she is more formidable than he anticipated. The play will run through May 15.
Amphibian Stage presents Kenny DeForest
Kenny DeForest is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor best known for his appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Comedy Central Stand-up, HBO’s Crashing, TruTV’s Friends of the People, and as a former producer and co-host of Comedy at the Knitting Factory, widely considered to be one of the best independently run comedy shows in the world. He'll perform at Friday and Saturday at Amphibian Stage.
Kody West in concert
Country singer Kody West is one of the latest in a long line of musicians to come out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Hailing originally from Denton, he gained a loyal following following his debut 2017 album, Green, which led to him serving as the supporting act for artists like Charlie Robison, Whiskey Myers, and Koe Wetzel. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas in support of his 2020 album, Overgrown.
Saturday, May 7
Fairmount Neighborhood Association presents 40th Annual Tour of Historic Homes
For the past 40 years, the Fairmount National Historic District in Fort Worth has opened its doors to visitors on Mother’s Day weekend to tour 6-10 historic homes in the neighborhood and highlight the benefits of preservation. This year’s tour is a comeback to full house tours following two years of outdoor-only viewing. The event will highlight four bungalow-style homes, a work-in-progress renovation, and a beautifully restored bungalow currently housing the headquarters of Fort Worth Focused Real Estate. The tour takes place on both Saturday and Sunday. Find out more in this story.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art opening and closings
This weekend will see one new exhibition open at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, while two more will come to a close. Opening on Saturday is "Darryl Lauster: Testament," a bronze obelisk that calls for the viewer to be a critical reader of information and to look at the function of text in different contexts. Closing on Sunday is "Printing the Revolution: The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now," which presents historical civil rights-era prints by Chicano artists alongside works by graphic artists working from the 1980s to today; and "Beauty and Life: The Finis Welch Collection," featuring newly acquired photographs by Ansel Adams, Edward Steichen, Dorothea Lange, Marco Breuer, Edward Weston, and more on view for the first time.
Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights in concert
Jonathan Tyler is a Dallas-based musician who has received national attention, opening for major acts including Erykah Badu, Leon Russell, Deep Purple, The Black Crowes, Kool and the Gang, and more. Tyler and his band, the Northern Lights, have released three studio albums in their career, including 2015's Holy Smokes. They'll play at Billy Bob's Texas.
Mayfest will be at Trinity Park through May 8.
