Why University Park's Tree Lighting Left Snider Plaza for Centennial Park

University Park will light its holiday tree on Sunday, November 29, at Centennial Park, 3800 University Boulevard. The event runs from 3 to 7 p.m., and the tree is lit at 6:30. This is the event's third location change in three years, and the reason has more to do with Snider Plaza's new fountain than with the park.

The tradition was built around one picture: a tall tree standing over the fountain at Snider Plaza. The streetscape rebuild that gave the Plaza its replica fountain also changed what can stand above it. That one design decision explains this year's address and the bigger program that came with it.

Three Seasons, Two Addresses

The 2024 move was a response to construction. Minutes from University Park's Park Advisory Committee meeting on September 26, 2024, list "Tree Lighting in Centennial Park" as a first, made necessary by the Snider Plaza construction. The city's newsletter that November put the date at December 1, 2024.

Once the construction cones were gone, the lighting went back to the Plaza in 2025. One thing was different, though.

What the New Fountain Changed

People Newspapers reported in August that changes to the fountain's design meant four smaller trees took the place of the large one that traditionally stood over it in 2025. The paper's photo caption from that event says the evening "featured plenty of festivities, but no large tree over the Snider Plaza fountain."

City Council members and staff talked through the 2026 event at a work session on August 18, and that is where the move back to Centennial Park was set. According to People Newspapers, staff discussed adding food trucks and weighed a live tree against an artificial one. Staff also told the council that the city would still decorate the shopping area, including around the new fountain.

So the season now happens in two places. The ceremony itself, with its stage, crowd and countdown, goes to the park. The Plaza keeps the city's decorations, including around the fountain.

What Fits in a Park That Did Not Fit Around a Fountain

The program the city announced on November 2 would be hard to stage on a retail block:

• Main stage performances, including Texas Ballet Theatre
• Crafts with the University Park Public Library
• A pet adoption booth
• Photos with Santa Claus
• An ice skating rink
• A snow slide
• Treats and snacks from local vendors, plus food trucks, which the city calls new this year
• The tree lighting at 6:30 p.m.

An ice rink and a snow slide need open, level ground and space for lines. Food trucks need curb or lawn space where they can park for four hours. Centennial Park has room for all of it. The city's announcement says the highlight of the night comes when the tree is lit, so if you are bringing children, plan around 6:30. That gives you most of the afternoon for skating and the slide before the crowd turns toward the tree.

The Park Already Hosts the City's Other Big Day

Centennial Park is the city's regular gathering spot. University Park's facility page notes that the July 4 Park Cities Parade ends at the park's gazebo. With the lighting back in the park, the same lawn will host both the city's summer and winter celebrations this year.

The park was dedicated on September 5, 1947, and for most of its life it was called Goar Park. City Council approved the new name on April 2, 2024, to honor University Park's centennial. The city lists these features:

1. An open-air gazebo, with a fountain pictured beside it on the city's page
2. A babbling brook with benches and paths along it
3. The Live Oak picnic area
4. Two soccer fields
5. Walking and jogging trails, open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The newest landmark is the Centennial Tree, a Shumard red oak planted on March 13, 2024, as People Newspapers reported at the time. On November 29, that young oak will share the park with the holiday tree.

Snider Plaza Keeps the Lights

The city plans to decorate Snider Plaza, including around its new fountain, so the shopping district still gets its holiday look even with the ceremony held at the park.

Some of the Plaza's restaurants have already moved to their cold-weather menus. Dive Coastal Cuisine has brought back its butternut squash soup and turkey veggie chili for fall, according to a post on the Shops at Snider Plaza site. Dive also offers a Ritual One Goddess Salad, made with Ritual One, the luxury fitness studio. It comes with bibb lettuce, hearts of palm, avocado, blackened chicken and pepitas, and it runs as a limited monthly special. If you want a quieter evening than Sunday at the park, a bowl of chili on the Plaza is one option.

Monday Night on Dallas Hall Lawn

The weekend has a second lighting. SMU holds its Celebration of Lights on Monday, November 30, on Dallas Hall Lawn, according to the university's alumni calendar.

This will be the 49th Celebration. The SMU Student Foundation, which runs the event, dates it to 1977. Its 2026 event page lists student music performances, President Jay C. Hartzell reading the Christmas Story, the lighting of the tree and the lawn around it, live reindeer and free food. The Student Foundation's FAQ says people from Dallas-area communities are welcome.

The Daily Campus described the 2025 Celebration with student carols, a candlelit "Silent Night," and the tree and lawn lighting up at the end.

Put together, Thanksgiving weekend ends with two lightings on back-to-back nights. The city's is on Sunday afternoon at Centennial Park, with skating and Santa. SMU's is on Monday at Dallas Hall, with student music and a reading.

The tree goes up at 6:30 p.m. on November 29 at 3800 University Boulevard. If you are thinking about what your own corner of the Park Cities means to you this season, or what it might mean to the next family who lives there, Darla Chapman Ripley would be glad to talk it through over coffee on the Plaza. Let's Connect.