Holiday News

Essential tips for 2019 New Year's Eve fireworks in downtown Dallas

Reunion Tower will be home to an over-the-top fireworks show.

Photo courtesy of Reunion Tower

Downtown Dallas is going to be celebrating New Year's Eve with two special events and preparations are already underway.

These events are expected to increase traffic in the Central Business District — particularly around Reunion Tower and Dallas City Hall.

The festivities are two-pronged:

7 pm-12:30 am: Dallas New Year's Eve City Hall Party on the Plaza, where a countdown begins leading up to the stroke of midnight.
11:59 pm: Reunion Tower launches its Over the Top Fireworks Show, described as "the only 360-degree, panoramic fireworks spectacular in the Central time zone."

Isn't that such a prototypical Dallas claim? It can't just be great fireworks — it's the only spectacular in the Central time zone.

So to clarify: We are not trying to compete with the big kahuna in New York's Times Square, and whatever is taking place on the West Coast. But we're kings of the CST. Our fireworks can beat Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. They'll be better than San Salvador, Guatemala City, and the entire Yucatan. Better than New Orleans.

Skyline action
Beginning at 11:30 pm, some downtown buildings are joining forces to enhance the fireworks with preliminary sky action. CST, Reunion Tower, Hunt Realty Investments, and Downtown Dallas, Inc. have partnered to bring vibrant hues of pink and teal to the skyline.

Just before the clock strikes midnight, participating buildings including AT&T Headquarters, the Omni Dallas Hotel, Bank of America Plaza, and Thanksgiving Tower will go dark for one minute, as a prelude to the 10-minute show, which will feature more than 4,000 pyrotechnic special effects.

Pets
Is this a good time to bring up that fireworks are terrifying to animals and wildlife, and result in many pets in Texas getting loose, with some hit by cars and others ending up in the shelter? And that cities in Texas should choose the humane route by using silent fireworks which are visually exciting but mostly noiseless?

In any case, pet owners are advised to keep their animals inside on New Year's Eve.

Shut-ins
If you're not headed downtown, you can listen to the musical score via a simulcast on ALT 103.7 FM; watch it on NBC 5; or watch a live stream on Reunion Tower's YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram accounts.

Street closures
If you are headed downtown, be advised that there will be street closures, as follows:

Young Street between Griffin and Ervay 6 pm-12:30 am
South Akard Street between Wood and Canton 6 pm-12:30 am
South Ervay Street between Young and Canton 6 pm-12:30 am
Marilla Street between Wood and Evergreen 6 pm-12:30 am
Browder Street between Young and Canton 8 am-12:30 am
Hotel Street between Reunion Blvd East and Memorial Drive 8 pm-12:45 am
Sports Street between North Drive and Memorial Drive 8 pm-12:45 am

Police will be on hand to direct traffic in and around those closures, including the worst part: the post-midnight eastbound traffic on Commerce Street and Young Street.

DART is also giving free rides from 6 pm until the end of service on December 31 on DART buses, light rail, Paratransit Services, and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE rides from EBJ Union Station to CentrePort/DFW Airport Station only).

For other New Year festivities, check out this list of New Year's Eve parties, and this list of places to eat on New Year's Eve, and this list of places to get brunch on New Year's Day.

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New Theater

Premieres lead the way in Dallas Theater Center's 2026-27 season

Aigner Mizzelle and Okieriete Onaodowan in the off-Broadway production of The Monsters

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The Monsters, which started off-Broadway, will make its regional premiere as part of Dallas Theater Center's 2026-27 season.

The 2026-2027 season for Dallas Theater Center will feature six productions, including three world premieres, a regional premiere, a returning favorite, and a to-be-determined sixth production.

The inaugural season of incoming Enloe/Rose Artistic Director, Jaime Castañeda, will be marked by a renewed commitment to new work at Dallas Theater Center.

That starts with with the world premieres of three new shows:

The Cold War thriller Reykjavik86 by Gabe McKinley, which brings the 1986 nuclear summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to life on stage. It will be the initial production of the season, running September 11-27, 2026 at Wyly Theatre.
The dark comedy musical Kill Local, with a book by Mat Smart and music and lyrics by Liza Anne, is about Sheila and her sister, Abigail, who work together for their mother’s small family business, which just so happens to be assassins. It features killer songs about blood ties, revenge, and how hard it is to get unstuck. It will run March 26-April 11, 2027 in the Wyly Studio Theatre
The Making of a Saint by KJ Sanchez is theatrical exploration of faith and family in which KJ, a documentary writer/performer, sets out to understand the story of Sister Blandina, whom KJ's brother is helping to canonize. It will be the final scheduled show of the season, running May 14-June 6, 2027 in the Wyly Studio Theatre.

Joining them will be the regional premiere of The Monsters by Ngozi Anyanwu, about a scrappy young fighter named Lil who is ready to enter the ring. She reconnects with her brother Big, an accomplished fighter in the local MMA scene and tries to earn his respect.

The production, which just finished a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run on March 22, runs October 9-November 1, 2026 in the Wyly Studio Theatre.

A yet-to-be-named fifth production, which will be announced on June 1, will run February 5-21, 2027 in the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

All of those productions will be part of the season subscriptions. Dallas Theater Center's annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol, running November 27-December 27, 2026 at Wyly Theatre, can be added on.

“New work is the engine of the American Theater, and Dallas Theater Center will be a laboratory for artists who have something urgent and honest to express today,” said Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Jaime Castañeda in a statement. "These plays are about the now, and they are events for the stage that are in direct conversation with the audience."

DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members will be featured throughout the 2025-26 season, including Christina Austin Lopez, Tiana Kaye Blair, Blake Hackler, Bob Hess, Liz Mikel, Alex Organ, Molly Searcy, Tiffany Solano, Sally Nysteun Vahle, Esteban Vilchez, Zachary J. Willis, and Bri Woods, who is the Linda and Bill Custard SMU Meadows Actor.

Subscriptions for the 2026-27 season are available now, and can be purchased online at DallasTheaterCenter.org or by calling the DTC Box Office at 214-522-8499.

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