The southeast shore of White Rock Lake gets a bit more festive this week as Holiday at the Arboretum returns.
(Dallas Arboretum)
After celebrating 10 years of the festival’s signature lineup of “12 Days of Christmas” gazebos in 2024, the Arboretum will introduce special nighttime attractions for its wintertime holiday festival this year. The festival runs from Nov. 12 to Jan. 4 and will kick off with a member-only preview the night before on Nov. 11.
Nighttime hours have been a fixture of Holiday at the Arboretum for several years. This year, however, extended “night owl” hours from 8:30 to 10 p.m. will give visitors additional time to tour the grounds. One p.m. attraction likely of interest to night owl visitors will be Nightglow, a newly-added installation of illuminated displays sponsored by AURORA and Lightware Labs.
The 12 Days of Christmas gazebo installation, a beloved staple of the festival, celebrated a decade at the Arboretum last year. Through a combination of moving parts decorated with 28,000 rhinestones, 28 hand-carved animals and 55 mannequins, the display tells the story of its eponymous song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The gazebos were designed by Tommy Bourgeois, an East Dallas neighbor who has designed for the Dallas Opera and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Also returning is the Neuhoff Christmas Village, a European-style Christmas market filled with special stops for kids like Santa’s house and drink vendors. At the center visitors will find a specially-crafted Christmas Pyramid standing 23 feet tall. The pyramid was designed and built in Germany. Of-age visitors can also visit the Mistletoe Lounge, a special pop-up bar themed for the season, for $30.
Holiday programming planned for the festival includes daily seated tea services, pictures with Santa Claus and live music. Restaurant DeGolyer is also planning a series of pre-fixe holiday dinners with entrees including short ribs in a Dr. Pepper demi glaze and vegetable lasagna.
