The last few years have been rough for a beloved local Easter tradition, but organizers announced Tuesday that Easter in Lee Park will return for its 50th anniversary on March 27.
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This year's event runs from 1-4 p.m. and will include live music, an egg hunt and a visit from the Easter Bunny, as well as the colorful Petropolitan Pooch Parade down Turtle Creek Ave. In the past, thousands have lined the streets to watch up to 250 costumed pets and owners make the festive march, a rep says. There will again be a contest with TBA categories (think along the lines of "Pet and Owner Lookalike") and a celebrity judge, also TBA.
Attendees are invited and encouraged to bring picnic lunches and blankets, as well as well-behaved pets on leashes.
Locals were devastated last year to learn that the 2015 event was cancelled due to fundraising constraints. According to this GoFundMe campaign, the trouble began in 2011 when the Turtle Creek Association could no longer produce the event and the Cedar Springs Merchants Association stepped in. CSMA produced it at a financial loss and eventually turned to online fundraising before calling it quits last year.
This year, the event's back with a new producer, The Lee Park & Arlington Hall Conservancy, which is working in conjunction with the City of Dallas.
Easter in Lee Park is free and open to all ages. Registration for the pooch parade is now open, and the cost is $10 in advance or $15 on March 27.
Scroll through for photos from past Easters in Lee Park:
