City Lights Street Closures

Avoid these downtown Dallas streets during City Lights 2013 holiday fest

This Saturday, November 16, marks the official opening of the holiday season in downtown Dallas, thanks to the City Lights festival. It starts at Main Street Garden and continues westbound on Main Street to Belo Garden.

In addition to lighting the downtown tree and unveiling the Neiman Marcus Downtown holiday windows and crawl tubes, revelers can expect a plethora of family-friendly activities, such as musical performances, outdoor market and concessions, face painting and ornament making, and Santa sightings.

But they should also expect a traffic snarl. Certain roads will be shut down as early as 6 am on November 16. These are the spots to avoid if you’re headed that way:

6 am-1 am (November 17): Main closed between west side of Harwood to east side of St. Paul.
9 am-11:30 pm: Main closed between east side of St. Paul to east side of Griffin; St. Paul from south side of Elm to north side of Commerce; Ervay from south side of Elm to north side of Commerce; Akard from south side of Elm to north side of Commerce; Field from south side of Elm to north side of Commerce.
6 pm-10 pm: Harwood closed from the south side of Elm to the north side of Jackson.
6:30 pm-7:30 pm: Main closed between the east side of Harwood to the west side of South Pearl. Commerce closed between the east side of Harwood to the west side of South Pearl.

Downtown Dallas Inc. said it will be working with valet companies, hotels and businesses to ensure minimal interruptions, and road closures will be officer-controlled. For a complete list of City Lights activities — including the all-important info about where to park — visit the Downtown Dallas Inc. website.

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This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas shines with holiday spirit in this week's most popular stories

Photo by Stevan Koye

Vitruvian Lights at Vitruvian Park starts on November 18, running through January 1.

Editor's note: In this week's most popular stories, two topics reign supreme: holiday spirit and Guy Fieri. Here are the most-read Dallas stories of the week. And for more festive fun, check out the best things to do this weekend.

1. Dallas dazzles as the No. 2 most festive city in America this year. Dallas' holiday spirit is shining extra bright: The city was just named the No. 2 most festive city in the nation according to an annual report. This is the third year in a row that Dallas has held the No. 2 spot.

2. Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives star Guy Fieri coming to Dallas this week. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is coming to the Dallas area in support of his and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar’s Santo Spirits brand. He'll be making an appearance in Dallas on Saturday, December 7, including a consumer meet and greet and bottle signing.

3. Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is taping in Dallas this week. Fieri's not just in town for a promotional appearance. The Food Network star is also filming future episodes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, his massively popular, long-running show.

Guy Fieri is filming in Dallas. Photo courtesy of Food Network

4. McKinney couple ready to shine on ABC's Great Christmas Light Fight. A McKinney couple whose annual holiday lights extravaganza attracts visitors from all over North Texas had the chance to shine in the national spotlight on ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight. Also in the spotlight: The Hughes family from Rockwall, who appeared on the show's season premiere.

5. Dallas climbs back up in ranking of 'World's Best Cities' for 2025. Dallas made a big rebound in its status among the top 100 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report. Resonance Consultancy ranked Dallas the 55th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.