Klyde Warren Park to Host Tree Lighting Celebration on Saturday

There's been a return back to some sort of normal this year with holiday events after canceling or modifying celebrations last year.

This weekend, it’s about to get merry and bright at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas. The park is planning to host one of its biggest events in 2 years.

The park's annual Tree Lighting Celebration is on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

At least 10,000 people are expected to turn out, possibly the biggest crowd seen since the 2019 holiday season before the pandemic.

It will be an unmodified event this year in an effort to normalize the holidays again.

“It’s really meaningful to be able to have so many people come to Klyde Warren Park and celebrate this tradition that we’ve done for years. It’s almost our 10th year,” said park president Kit Sawers.

In 2020, the park hosted multiple tree lighting ceremonies to spread people out and keep the crowds as thin as possible. This year will have just the one.

“We really weren’t able to have it last year in the same way, so we’re thrilled to have Santa, Rudolph, Frosty and all of their friends at the park with people celebrating these traditions together,” Sawers said.

As concerns about the new Omicron COVID-19 variant grow, the park is encouraging people to get vaccinated, wear a mask in certain situations, and to stay home if you’re sick.

They're also hopeful that being a fully outdoor venue will help minimize issues.

“It’s played an important role in how people have been able to live during the pandemic being in an outdoor space,” said Sawers. "We really have a lot of confidence in our guests. They’ve shown throughout this pandemic that they know how to act at Klyde Warren Park and this place means a lot to them. They don’t want to lose the opportunity for this outdoor space for them to come to. We just encourage everyone to stay safe so that we can keep having events like this."

The tree lighting celebration is free and open to the public.

Festivities include:

• A snow machine
• Live performances by a mariachi band, carolers, and the Dallas Theater Center
• The Dallas Conservatory ballet will perform a portion of the Nutcracker
• Face paintings, balloon animals, and story time with Mrs. Claus
• Santa and friends will light up the tree after sundown, right around 6 p.m.

Click here for more details.

The parking garages and street parking will fill up fast so plan ahead.

This map shows where garages are located:

Click here for more parking details.