Photo via Shutterstock
Save
Celebrate the start of the holiday season at the Dallas Holiday Parade! Returning this weekend, the annual parade is set to fill the city’s downtown streets with a vibrant processions of floats, festivities, and live performances as Dallas’ largest one-day outdoor event!
The Dallas Holiday Parade returns this Saturday, December 6. The parade itself will launch from Commerce and Houston streets at 9 am, though the area will be filled with pre-parade vendors and other holiday entertainment at Main Street Gardens and Civic Gardens for festive early birds from 7 am.
Expecting around 450,000 attendants, the parade will feature a procession of larger-than-life helium balloons, elaborate floats, marching bands, and all sorts of costumed characters ranging from giant walking toy soldiers to prancing elves, and other Yuletide figures. In total, the parade is poised to feature over 3,000 entertainers including HTEDance choreographed dance performances.
Photo via Dallas Holiday Parade
As a part of the parade’s grand finale, the parade will feature appearances by Santa and Mrs. Clause. After the parade, around 9 am, a festival will take place at the Main Street Gardens and Civic Gardens for a continuation of holiday entertainment until around 3 pm. Expect here a festive atmosphere bustling with vendors, holiday activations, and live performances.
When visiting the parade and festival, organizers encourage the use of DART to avoid traffic.
Entrance to the festival and parade are completely free, however, if you want a guaranteed seat, you can purchase bleacher seats through the official event website.
The Dallas Holiday Parade was originally produced in 1988. The inaugural event, largely created through Children’s Medical Center Dallas and the Adolphus Hotel, drew a crowd of 70,000 attendants and earned the title of “Miracle on Commerce Street”.