Garden offers children New Year’s Eve fun

By Terry Lendecker

The Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden at the Dallas Arboretum presents its fourth annual Noon Year’s Eve event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, with ball drops at 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to accommodate social distancing. Designed for families, this kid-friendly program allows everyone to enjoy all the fun of celebrating New Year’s Eve without the late night — all in a safe and socially distanced environment outside. 

Face masks are required for the duration of the visit. In addition, timed tickets are also required and can be purchased online or by calling 214-515-6615.

Visitors can explore the eight acres of the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden and stop at various galleries to try specialty themed hands-on crafts, activities and experiments including:

• Nature Noisemakers

• DIY Biodegradable Confetti

• Safe Sparklers 

• Paper Lanterns, and 

• Wish Bangs to pop after the ball drops. 

Families can also learn together as they explore New Year’s Eve traditions from around the world and how calendars inspired by the sun and moon have changed throughout history. Finally, guests are encouraged to stop by the Exploration Center to add their favorite personal New Year’s traditions to a community mural.

Jacie Hood, Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden public programs manager, added: “Noon Year’s Eve will also feature an exciting ball drop filled with music, dancing and confetti. In order to accommodate smaller groups for social distancing, the Children’s Adventure Garden offers three times for guests to experience the ball drop—11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. Ball drops take place outdoors on the beautiful plaza inside the butterfly gates at the entrance to the garden.” 

Noon Year’s Eve takes place during the last day of the Dallas Arboretum’s Holiday at the Arboretum event, which features both The 12 Days of Christmas and The Christmas Village. The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is located at 8525 Garland Road.