Thanksgiving in Dallas: Turkey Trot, Meals and Holiday Lights

At a glance

• Where: Dallas, Texas: Downtown, Oak Lawn, East Dallas, Oak Cliff and Fair Park
• When: Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday of November; holiday-season events start that week and run into December
• Biggest morning event: The Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot at Dallas City Hall, usually Thanksgiving morning
• Cost: Varies by event; the Turkey Trot and Zoo Lights require tickets or registration, so check the official sites

The big Thanksgiving Day event in Dallas is the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, usually held Thanksgiving morning. Dallas does not have a Thanksgiving Day parade: the Dallas Holiday Parade is a downtown tradition held on a Saturday in early December. After the run, the plan is a table at a Dallas restaurant or a take-home feast, then holiday lights over the long weekend.

This guide groups the picks by when they happen: Thursday morning, the meal, and the long weekend. It ends with ways to give back and a list of what is closed on the day.

What happens Thursday morning in Dallas?

Thursday morning in Dallas is for the Turkey Trot, and it is the one fixed point of the day. Everything else, including the parade, comes later.

Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot (Downtown)

The Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot starts and finishes at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street in Downtown Dallas. The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas describes it as a tradition of more than 55 years, and proceeds go to the YMCA. Registration runs through Race Roster, and the event offers in-person and virtual options.

Race Roster has listed an 8-mile run and a 5K, untimed walking starts, and a Diaper Dash for the youngest racers, with starts in the morning. Plan to register ahead and arrive early; Downtown streets around City Hall are busy that morning. Walking is fine: the untimed options exist for exactly that.

Where can you eat Thanksgiving dinner in Dallas?

The fastest way to a Dallas Thanksgiving meal is a restaurant that publishes its own Thanksgiving offer. The picks below each point to the restaurant's own website, but none of those pages replaces a phone call: menus, prices, deadlines and Thanksgiving Day hours change, so confirm before you plan around them.

Al Biernat's (Oak Lawn)

Al Biernat's, 4217 Oak Lawn Avenue in Oak Lawn, links a Thanksgiving To-Go brochure from its homepage and handles takeout through its online ordering. This is the pick for hosts who want a steakhouse kitchen to do the work. Open the brochure for what is offered and the ordering details, and book early. Browse more of the neighborhood on our Oak Lawn page.

Eataly Dallas (NorthPark Center)

Eataly Dallas at NorthPark Center, on North Central Expressway, is a Thanksgiving shortcut for Italian-leaning tables. Eataly's national Thanksgiving pages describe prix-fixe menus at some locations, catering with heritage turkeys and sides, and delivery. Those pages do not say which offers apply to Dallas, so call the store at 469-759-2800 or check its page. Its store page has listed Thanksgiving Day hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for this year.

The Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek (Turtle Creek)

The Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, 2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas, posts a three-course prix fixe Thanksgiving menu on its own menu page, with separate adult and child pricing, and takes reservations through OpenTable. The page lists no seating times for the day, so treat it as the place to start for a dressed-up table, then book early and confirm.

Tip: call the places you already love

Many Dallas restaurants quietly serve a Thanksgiving menu without a big announcement. If a favorite is not listed here, call or check its own social page before you rule it out. Our where to eat in Dallas guide is a good place to build that list.

What is there to do over the Thanksgiving weekend?

The long weekend is when Dallas switches on its holiday displays. Most start the week of Thanksgiving; the two big downtown traditions, the Klyde Warren Park tree lighting and the Dallas Holiday Parade, come in early December.

Dallas Zoo Lights (Oak Cliff)

Zoo Lights at the Dallas Zoo, 650 South R. L. Thornton Freeway, is the evening light show that opens in mid-November and runs into early January. The zoo lists it on select nights from about 5:30 to 9 p.m. The zoo's page does not say whether it is open on Thanksgiving Day itself, so check the ticket calendar for the nights you want.

Holiday at the Arboretum (East Dallas)

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, 8525 Garland Road on the shore of White Rock Lake in East Dallas, runs Holiday at the Arboretum each year from mid-November into early January, with extended evening hours on many nights. The garden posts the season's dates on its homepage but does not list Thanksgiving Day hours, so check its calendar or call before you plan the holiday evening there. See East Dallas for the area.

Grinch musical at Music Hall at Fair Park (Fair Park)

Fair Park, 3809 Grand Avenue, lists a stage production of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical at its Music Hall over Thanksgiving week, and Fair Park posts a Melting Pot Markets event the Saturday before. Fair Park's own events page is the place to check what returns. See our Fair Park page.

Dallas Farmers Market (Downtown)

The Dallas Farmers Market, 920 South Harwood Street, closes on Thanksgiving Day but returns for the weekend. Its Shed is open Saturday and Sunday year-round, and the Market food hall is typically open daily. Closures are posted at least a week ahead on the market's own Instagram and calendar. Our Farmers Market page has more.

Klyde Warren Park Tree Lighting Celebration (Downtown)

Klyde Warren Park, 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, lights the Mayor's Tree at a family afternoon with free photos with Santa, story time with Mrs. Claus, face painting and live dance. The park's event page puts it in early December, after Thanksgiving weekend. Save the date rather than expecting it on the holiday itself.

Dallas Holiday Parade (Downtown)

The Dallas Holiday Parade is the downtown parade that Dallas visitors sometimes assume is Thanksgiving Day. It is held each December in Downtown Dallas. The first one stepped off on December 3, 1988, and it was started by employees of The Adolphus hotel and Children's Medical Center Dallas. Tickets are sold through the parade's own website. When it lands on the same Saturday as the Klyde Warren tree lighting, you can make a full downtown day of both.

How can you volunteer in Dallas at Thanksgiving?

The most dependable way to help is through the food banks and charities that publish their own sign-ups. The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) signs up volunteers through its portal at volunteer.ntfb.org, with roles such as Pack and Box shifts (age 12 and up, with a chaperone under 16), sorting produce (age 16 and up) and helping with senior food boxes (age 18 and up). Its volunteer page does not mention Thanksgiving specifically, so look for holiday-week shifts on its opportunities calendar. Pack and Box shifts are held at the NTFB Distribution Center, and the food bank's Perot Family Campus is at 3677 Mapleshade Lane in Plano, just outside Dallas.

The Salvation Army's North Texas Area Command at salvationarmyntx.org runs a Thanksgiving appeal and invites individuals and groups to sign up as bell ringers for its holiday kettles. Its page does not list kettle locations.

What is open and closed on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas?

Several major Dallas museums and attractions close on Thanksgiving Day, so build the afternoon around the meal and check any other plan on its own site.

• Closed: the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, 2201 N. Field Street, lists itself as closed on Thanksgiving Day.
• Closed: the Dallas World Aquarium, 1801 N. Griffin Street in the West End, lists itself as closed on Thanksgiving Day.
• Closed: the Dallas Farmers Market is closed on Thursday.
• Transit: DART's holiday page at dart.org/holiday lists holiday service and says customer service is closed on Thanksgiving Day. Check the holiday page for the bus and rail schedule before you rely on a train.
• Open: Eataly Dallas has listed Thanksgiving Day hours; other attractions, including Reunion Tower and the Dallas Museum of Art, were not confirmed, so check their own sites.

This year's dates

Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 26, 2026. These dates come from the official sites and can change.

• Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot: Thursday, November 26, with the 8-mile and 5K listed at 8:30 a.m. on Race Roster.
• Dallas Zoo Lights: November 13 through January 3 on select nights, typically 5:30 to 9 p.m.
• Holiday at the Arboretum: November 11 through January 3.
• Grinch musical at Music Hall at Fair Park: November 25 to 29.
• Dallas Holiday Parade: Saturday, December 5, step-off at 8:30 a.m.
• Klyde Warren Park Tree Lighting Celebration: Saturday, December 5, 4 to 7 p.m.

How we chose

We picked places in the City of Dallas that were open and that had a Thanksgiving or holiday-season offer on their own official site. We left out anything we could only confirm from third-party listings, including a smokehouse take-home program whose official site we could not read. Hours and menus change, so each pick says what the official page states and no more.

What should you book before Thanksgiving week in Dallas?

Book the run, the table and the evening tickets before the week starts; everything else can wait.

1. Register for the Turkey Trot early.
2. Call or check your dinner restaurant's page about two weeks ahead.
3. Book Zoo Lights or Arboretum tickets online.
4. Remember that the Perot Museum and Dallas World Aquarium are closed Thursday.
5. Hold an early-December Saturday for the parade and tree lighting.
6. Sign up with the North Texas Food Bank or the Salvation Army before the week gets busy.

For more events, see our annual events in Dallas guide, the Downtown page and what is on this weekend. Check the weather page before an outdoor evening.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Does Dallas have a Thanksgiving Day parade?

No. Dallas's big parade is the Dallas Holiday Parade, held each December in Downtown Dallas. On Thanksgiving morning the main event is the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot at Dallas City Hall.

Where is the Dallas Turkey Trot?

The Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot starts at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, Downtown Dallas. It is usually held on Thanksgiving morning, with in-person and virtual options through Race Roster.

Which Dallas restaurants offer Thanksgiving take-home meals?

Al Biernat's, the steakhouse at 4217 Oak Lawn Avenue in Dallas, links a Thanksgiving To-Go brochure from its homepage. Confirm the menu, prices and pickup deadlines directly with the restaurant.

Are Dallas museums open on Thanksgiving Day?

Many are not. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the Dallas World Aquarium both list themselves as closed on Thanksgiving Day, and the Dallas Farmers Market is closed too.

How can I volunteer in Dallas at Thanksgiving?

The North Texas Food Bank takes volunteers through volunteer.ntfb.org, and The Salvation Army seeks bell ringers at salvationarmyntx.org. Check each site's calendar for holiday openings.