Easter in the Park, an Oak Lawn tradition since the 1960s, has been canceled.
When the event began in 1966, the Dallas Symphony budgeted $3,000 to stage a concert in Lee Park. In 2011, the last year the DSO was part of the event, the cost had risen to $70,000.
While dogs were part of the annual Easter celebration since the beginning, the Pooch Parade didn’t become an official event until the 1980s.
Cedar Springs Merchants Association has staged the event for the past three years.
With the cost of permits, police, required trash haulers and more, CSMA needed to raise more than $20,000 to stage the event by this week. When a sponsor couldn’t be found and donations lagged, Dave Berryman, executive director of CSMA, announced the event was canceled.
“Unfortunately, Easter in the Park is canceled due to funding,” Berryman said. “We had no money to make the event happen.”
Lee Park is always open and is beautiful that time of year with the azaleas in full bloom. While pooches won’t be officially judged, many are expected to bring their dogs in costume to the park that day. Neither the symphony nor bands that replaced the symphony will perform, but people are welcome to picnic in the park.
Here’s a link to the history of Easter in the Park, one of my favorite stories I’ve written for the paper.
This is from EasterInLeePark.com:
Please feel free to utilize the public park on Easter Sunday. Here are the public guildlines from the City of Dallas:
- Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the park, public street, sidewalks and parking adjacent to the park.
- Park closed from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
- Golfing is prohibited for purpose of citizen safety.
- Motor vehicles on park turf prohibited.
- Dogs must remain on leash.
- No unauthorized vending, sales or advertising on public property permitted.
- Littering is prohibited.
