Holiday events fill Fair Park with glowing and giving spirit.
For lights, entertainment and fun for the entire family, Fair Park is THE holiday destination this season. Whether it’s the winter wonderland of Fair Park Holiday Lights (December 13 and 14), the health screenings and excitement of KwanzaaFest (also December 13 and 14) or helping the less fortunate at the S.M. Wright Foundation’s Christmas in the Park (December 20), there’ll be plenty of merriment in the air!
Fair Park Holiday Lights is shining example of music, movies, family fun.
Every year, the Fair Park Holiday Lights festival continues to grow and glow in spirit. This year’s event has free admission and is hosted by Friends of Fair Park, a nonprofit organization, as well as the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department. A tremendous treat for all ages, it will be held the weekend of December 13 and 14 from 3-8 p.m.
The official City of Dallas Tree Lighting Ceremony is the centerpiece spectacle, commencing at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Thousands of LED lights will brighten trees and walkways around the park. “On both nights, there’ll be special candlelight tributes to the men and women who serve in the military,” says Craig Holcomb, Executive Director of the Friends of Fair Park.
The Fair Park museums will offer free admission on both days from 3 to 7 p.m., and the Dallas Wind Symphony will perform tuneful holiday concerts in the Fair Park Bandshell, starting at 4:30 p.m.
Festive flicks, rides and Texas-sized merriment.
“We are very excited about the first-ever showing of holiday movies in Cotton Bowl Stadium”, said Mark Jarrell, Senior Park Manager. Attendees are invited to bring blankets, lawn chairs, and sleeping bags onto the field to watch The Polar Express at 7 pm on Saturday and Elf at 7 pm on Sunday. Tours of the newly renovated stadium will also be available from 3-5:30 p.m. each day.
What would Fair Park Holiday Lights be without Santa presiding over such must-do’s as hay rides, horse-drawn carriages and train rides. A wonderland awaits filled with music, holiday foods, children’s crafts, games and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, of course.
Sunday, things may get a bit slippery for children and adults alike. A Texas-sized snow hill next to Big Tex Circle beckons those who want try their sledding skills. The whole Fair Park Holiday Lights show can be viewed from above on the Texas Skyway Gondola, which will be running.
Two very worthwhile activities will help families enjoy a happier holiday. Bring plenty of canned food to Stuff-a-DART bus, benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. Navidad in the Neighborhood, a non-profit organization, will be collecting new toys during the two-day event.
The Holiday Lights Fine Arts & Crafts Market will return for convenient holiday shopping, featuring a gathering of handmade crafts, artisan demonstrations and one-of-a kind gift ideas. For more information on market vending opportunities and Fair Park Holiday Lights in general, visit the Fairpark, Texas web site. Contact vwait@thereedsprc.com for sponsorship opportunities.
Get joyful and celebrate the season at Fair Park Holiday Lights!
KwanzaaFest celebrates and improves lives, health of local residents.
For Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, the African American celebration of Kwanzaa is about building a stronger, healthier community. The 18th Annual KwanzaaFest, December 13 and 14 at the Automobile Building in Fair Park, is a free expo that promotes unity and responsibility in the family as well as improving quality of life. It is now the largest African American cultural event in the Southwest.
“Our objectives are based on the seven principles of Kwanzaa,” says Mr. Price. “Beyond working together to shape the well-being of South Dallas and other areas that need desperate help, we emphasize such principles as faith, creativity, self-determination, purpose and cooperative economics through various components of the event. These range from health screenings and showcasing business entrepreneurs to big-name entertainers who set a positive example for their fans.”
Event’s health screenings are saving lives.
A record 50,000 people attended KwanzaaFest last year. “We even had to turn folks away,” says Mr. Price. The main reason people came was the festival’s health initiative: Free screenings for all attendees. “KwanzaaFest has evolved into more of a health-centered focus,” believes Mr. Price. “We are trying to minimize what we call ‘borders to access’—obstacles to getting screened or recognizing health problems early on. Many such problems have been caught in early stages…and would not have been identified if these people had not visited KwanzaaFest.” In fact, attendees must commit to getting tested for health problems before entering the event.
More than 30 healthcare organizations—including pharmaceutical companies and hospitals—will perform heart, cancer, blood pressure, diabetes and other screenings. “New this year is a Dallas-based company that manufactures and provides free glasses to young people,” adds Mr. Price. Children and teens also can participate in the 2nd annual Beat Obesity 5K Walk/Run, which stresses the importance of a maintaining a healthy body.
Entertainers, entrepreneurs and traditions add excitement.
Other KwanzaaFest highlights: The Business Expo, which attracts entrepreneurs from across the country. Kids Fest/Teen Fest features sports activities, arts and crafts, theatrical African storytelling and educational activities. But it’s the concerts and other stage acts that bring down the house. In the spirit of Kujichagulia (“to define ourselves”), the likes of Usher, Alicia Keyes, Yung Joc and others have performed in the past. There’s also gospel, African dancers, drummers, a debate contest (inspired by the Denzel Washington movie, The Great Debaters), acting and fashion shows.
KwanzaaFest begins and ends with the ritual of “Cleansing of the Temple,” evoking the spirit of ancestors.
For more information on KwanzaaFest, visit John Wiley Price's web site. It is one holiday event that is good for body and soul.
S.M. Wright Foundation Christmas in the Park event
Christmas in the Park carries on Rev. Wright’s ministry of feeding, clothing, giving.
For children who live in poverty, it’s a yuletide miracle. For parents, seniors, the homeless and other adults, it’s a heaven-sent holiday gift. The S.M. Wright Foundation is now in its 10th year of brightening lives with Christmas in the Park. On Saturday, December 20 starting at 9 a.m. at the Fair Park Automobile Building, residents of neighborhoods near the park will be given clothes, toys, food and toiletries that have been donated by caring individuals, organizations and businesses. This is the first time the event will be held at Fair Park, having outgrown its previous location at the People’s Baptist Church in South Dallas.
“We’re expecting as many as 20,000 pre-registered men, women and children to line up,” says Winsor Barbee, Marketing Director of the event. “However only God truly knows how many are coming. Last year the line was over a mile long and we took care of everyone.”
A section of the Automobile Building will be transformed into a magnificent “Toyland” by Freeman’s Decorating. Here bikes, dolls, games and other gifts await children who will be ecstatic to learn there IS a Santa Claus. Adults can pick up all the trimmings for a nice holiday meal (chicken, canned vegetables, baked items) and then choose clothes and toiletries from the Resource Center on the premises.
A foundation based on help and hope.
Rev. S.M. Wright, one of South Dallas’ most respected spiritual and civic leaders, started his foundation in the 1990s. The pastor believed in helping people of all walks of life, regardless of their economic situation. Dr. Wright’s sons, Rev. S.M. Wright II and Rev. Calvin Wright, have carried on his legacy, feeding over 2,000 people each week and helping with their basic needs.
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert envisioned taking the holiday giving event to the next level. By relocating it to a much larger facility such as the Automobile Building, people would not have to stand out in the cold to receive their gifts.
Community volunteers are urgently needed on December 19, the day before the event, to help set up various stations, unbox items and stack tables. All organizations, office groups and individuals of high school age and above are invited to serve. Call 214-941-3034 to volunteer or with any questions.
“No one who needs assistance—young or old—will leave empty-handed,” says Winsor Barbee. “But they will leave with a smile on their face. Dr. Wright wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
