JFK Mania

JFK 50th anniversary tour traces Lee Harvey Oswald's steps through Dallas

Lee Harvey Oswald at the Dallas Police Department.
Photo courtesy of Sixth Floor Museum
Lee Harvey's will be the launch point for a tour centered on Lee Harvey Oswald.
Photo courtesy of Lee Harvey's

With the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination looming, there are public events, film projects and now a funky guided tour. The Steps of Oswald Tour will follow the path of shooter Lee Harvey Oswald, but with a unique departure point: popular watering hole Lee Harvey's.

The tour, which takes place September 15, was hatched by Kaz Ferns, marketing manager for Lee Harvey's, who got the idea to initiate Dallas tours after a rather unsatisfactory one in New York.

"While I was up there, I spent $32 on this ridiculous tour of New York," she says. "I got off on the first stop and walked around Manhattan by myself. When I got back, it made me realize that people rarely do things in their own city. So I decided to get a tour thing rolling in Dallas."

She's not conducting the tours herself. "I know people who have expertise and enjoy doing tours," she says. "I was trying to think of something to do with Lee Harvey's."

The first city tour, which had a different theme, took place in August, with guide Freda Dillard, owner of DFW Historical Tours. Attendees met at the bar, had lunch and drinks as timing permitted, then boarded the bus for an afternoon tour.

This time the tour guide is Jerry Dealey, who has led similar Oswald-centric tours. "He's from that Dealey family," Ferns says. Dealey's great granduncle was George Bannerman Dealey, the founder of the Dallas Morning News, and for whom Dealey Plaza was named.

The tours, which Ferns aims to conduct monthly, are not officially affiliated with Lee Harvey's. But they echo the club's renegade spirit. Attendees can bring coolers, and part of the ritual is that they congregate at the club before leaving.

"It isn't a Lee Harvey's thing; it's just the meet-up and destination," Ferns says.

Tickets can be purchased through Prekindle. Price including tax is $29.50, and there's a limited number of tickets.

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Very Merry news

Dallas climbs up list of best cities to celebrate Christmas

Dallas Arts District with holiday lights

Photo courtesy of Omni Dallas Hotel

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Dallas is on the nice list this holiday season: The city has clambered up on WalletHub's annual ranking of the best cities for celebrating Christmas.

Very merry Dallas is ranked No. 31 on WalletHub's 2024 list, which ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities across five key dimensions: Traditions and fun, observance, generosity, shopping opportunities, plus travel and meal costs.

Dallas ranked No. 34 on WalletHub's 2023 report. That's a 3-point increase. Kudos, Dallas.

Here's how the city performed across the study's five main categories:

No. 16 – Traditions and fun rank
No. 21 – Shopping rank
No. 57 – Generosity rank
No. 74 – Costs rank
No. 75 – Observance rank

Dallas can cheer on its place as the third highest-ranked Texas city thanks to its vast array of holiday happenings, including numerous dazzling light displays and neighborhoods throughout town. From local restaurants and bars creating festive feasts and delightful cocktail experiences, to a number of pop-up ice skating rinks, over-the-top attractions, and tall Christmas trees, there are more ways than ever for Dallasites to celebrate.

Dallas households also have bigger holiday budgets in 2024 than they did the year before. According to a separate WalletHub study, the average Dallas household is expected to spend about $1,406 on Christmas gifts this year, versus $943 in 2023.

"With inflation making Christmas celebrations, gifts, food and travel more expensive, certain cities are much better for your wallet than others during the holiday," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "In addition to being affordable, the best cities have a large number of people celebrating, plenty of places for Christians to worship, populations who give generously to charity, and plenty of fun activities to enjoy with family and friends."

In a separate report by home services provider Thumbtack, Dallas was named the second most festive U.S. city in 2024.

Elsewhere in Texas, other festive cities that earned spots in the top 50 include Austin (No. 23), San Antonio (No. 30), and Houston (No. 41).

The top 10 best places to experience Christmas in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 2 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 5 – Orlando, Florida
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – St. Louis, Missouri
No. 8 – Miami, Florida
No. 9 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 10 – New York, New York

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