Downtown Dallas is set to fill with marigolds, Catrinas and candlelight on October 31 as the Dallas Día de los Muertos Parade and Festival returns to City Hall Plaza for an evening of music, food and remembrance. The free, family-friendly gathering runs from 4 to 10 p.m., with a parade stepping off at 7 p.m. from the same plaza at 1500 Marilla Street.
According to visitdallas.com, this year's event begins and ends at Dallas City Hall and features a parade, live music, concessions, arts and crafts, and special recognition of respected Dallas leaders. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reports that NBC 5, Telemundo 39 and the Navarro Group are among those inviting the public to attend, and that the parade itself is meant to honor the customs of the traditional Mexican holiday.
Beyond the marching procession, organizers are also setting up vendor booths and arts and crafts activities alongside the food concessions, giving attendees plenty of reasons to linger on the plaza before and after the parade route winds through. Admission is free, according to dallas.culturemap.com, which also describes a colorful and joyful procession featuring Catrinas, horses, dance groups, music, floats and elaborate costumes.
What Día de los Muertos Honors
Día de los Muertos celebrates and honors people who have passed, with the holiday traditionally observed November 1 and 2. Families mark the occasion by building altars decorated with yellow marigolds, cempasúchil flowers and calaveras, filling them with photographs, mementos and food offerings meant to welcome departed loved ones back for a visit.
The tradition also includes visits to graveyards, where festivities take place as people gather at their loved ones' graves. Catrina and Catrín, the elegantly dressed skeletal figures that have become some of the holiday's most recognizable icons, often show up in full costume throughout the celebrations, with many attendees dressing up as the pair for the occasion.
A Growing Downtown Tradition
The scale of the Dallas event has shifted from year to year. The 2023 parade stepped off at 7 p.m. from Dallas City Hall Plaza with a projected attendance of 10,000 people, per dallascitynews.net. By 2024, the event had shifted to a 2 p.m. start and organizers were expecting roughly 17,500 attendees across City Hall Plaza and the Central Business District, the outlet separately reported, describing that year's lineup of entertainment, lawn games, arts and crafts and food as free for all ages.
This year's 4-to-10 p.m. window and 7 p.m. parade mark another shift in format, though organizers note that all event details remain subject to change due to weather or other concerns, according to culturemap's listing.
Other Ways To Mark the Holiday Around Dallas
The City Hall event isn't the only option for Dallas residents looking to observe the holiday this year. Crown Hill Memorial Park and Mausoleum is hosting its 12th Annual Día de Muertos Celebración from October 17 through November 2, and the Latino Cultural Center is running a Día de los Muertos exhibition from October 20 through November 6 alongside a separate festival on October 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., both per visitdallas.com.
For those looking for a more formal evening out, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is also staging a Día de los Muertos program featuring traditional dance, pan de muerto and hot chocolate alongside a community ofrenda, with tickets starting at $38, the same visitdallas.com listing notes.
