Latin Culture in Full Bloom: Dallas Arboretum Hosts 8th Annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden invites the community to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture during its Hispanic Heritage Celebration, returning Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 13-14, 2025. This colorful, family-friendly festival honors Latin traditions through music, food and community partnerships—all set within the Arboretum’s nationally acclaimed garden setting. 

Held the weekend before the opening of ¡Mundo México! at Autumn at the Arboretum, this year’s celebration kicks off a season-long exploration of Mexican art, history and innovation. Guests can enjoy live music from local bands, vibrant artisan markets and more, then return in the weeks ahead to experience large-scale installations and immersive garden displays inspired by Mexico’s diverse regions. 

Schedule highlights 

Quinceañera fashion show — Saturday, 10 to 11 a.m., Rosine Hall 

Mariachi band — Saturday, 11 to 11:30 a.m., Entry Plaza 

Live music all weekend — debuts: Cayuga All Stars and Los Gran Reyes on Saturday; Javier Mendoza on Sunday. Returning acts: DJs Villa and Amaris; pianists Mauricio Campos on Saturday and Adri Rojas on Sunday 

Sunday dance lesson — salsa and Latin dance with Mudanza Movement, 10 a.m. to noon, Jeanne’s Pavilion 

Artisan vendor market — both days, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Entry Plaza 

Animal Adventures with the Dallas Zoo — Saturday, 10 to 10:45 a.m., Children’s Adventure Garden

 

Full details and updates: For the latest schedule and vendors, please visit dallasarboretum.org/hispanic-heritage-celebration

Autumn at the Arboretum: A Fall Fairy Tale

For the 17th year, Autumn at the Arboretum: A Fall Fairy Tale, presented by Reliant, highlights the nationally acclaimed Pumpkin Village featuring pumpkin houses and creative displays utilizing more than 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash. This year’s fall festival opens September 17 and runs through October 31, 2022.

The event showcases the return of Cinderella’s carriage, along with themed pumpkin houses that make up the acclaimed Pumpkin Village. Other “gourd-eous” displays are based on the classic tales of Jack and The Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Sword in the Stone and even a magic carpet ride selfie experience from One Thousand and One Nights. According to the Pioneer Woman, this festival is one of “20 Best Pumpkin Patches in the U.S. to Visit With the Family This Fall.”

Autumn at the Arboretum features the breathtaking colors of fall including 150,000 autumn flowers—marigolds, chrysanthemums, pentas and more—accented by pumpkins, gourds and squash.

Many special events take place during the festival. Some highlights:

• Live piano music and Dallas’ best party bands every weekend.

• Seasonal daily samples that use in-season plants from A Tasteful Place garden.

• Mommy and Me Mondays and Tiny Tot Tuesdays, hay bale maze, a pumpkin patch with pumpkins for purchase and more.

• From September 10 to December 31, 2022, the garden presents 50 of the statues from “#IfThenSheCan - The Exhibit,” the largest collection of statues of women ever assembled together, to be installed throughout the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.

 Admission ranges from $12-$20; $12 for children 2-12 years old; $16 for seniors 65 years old and up; $20 for adults; free for children under 2.

Guests can also visit A Tasteful Place, a 3.5-acre food, herb and vegetable garden. Weekly activities include free Monday cooking demonstrations with Dallas College Cooks along with cooking, floral and horticulture demonstrations.

Visitors can explore the eight-acre Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden where science and fun become one. Plenty of daily hands-on activities await children such as STEM Stops, science and plant labs and demonstrations, many of which have the fairy tale theme incorporated.

In addition to Reliant’s presenting sponsorship, other sponsors include Bank of Texas, Kirkland & Ellis, Oncor, Park Place, CC Young, Doyle & Associates, Kimberly-Clark and Rosewood Corporation.

Check the website, dallasarboretum.org, and social media (Facebook & Twitter: @dallasarboretum Instagram/YouTube:@thedallasarboretum) for up-to-date information.