Kids Love Downtown Dallas Too

by Kenzie (age 12) and mom Dorcy Clark
 October 4, 2017

My family loves Downtown Dallas for so many different reasons. We live four miles from Downtown so we use the neighborhood and surrounding areas as our playground. Downtown is an awesome place to spend your weekend, whether you are the kind of person who loves to eat, who enjoys a good view, who likes to be active, or if you simply want to experience a really cool city. My mom works Downtown, which is super convenient, so she can come home from work in ten minutes and my sister and I can go visit her, too. There are so many places that we love to go and I want to share some with you.

Dining in Downtown
For me, food is a big thing. One of my favorite new finds is a super delicious pizza restaurant in the Design District called Pie Tap. It has an amazing atmosphere, super nice staff, and the best menu in the whole world (ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, it’s good. In fact, it is the best pizza I have had in all my 12 years of life). I would definitely recommend Pie Tap to anybody who crosses my path.

Another excellent place to dine is the Alamo Drafthouse in the Cedars neighborhood. Alamo Drafthouse place is a hip, urban movie theater that serves food so you can see a movie and have a quality meal at the same time.

Farmers Market is another really fun place to go. Visitors can try great restaurants, buy fresh produce straight from the farmers, shop products from other vendors, and even watch a movie outside! The Farmers Market is a great place to go because not only is there a large selection of restaurants, there are delicious foods to purchase from local farmers, everything from homegrown fruit to local honey.
 
Places to Visit
There are a lot of places in Downtown Dallas and its surrounding areas that are great. One of them is Klyde Warren Park. Klyde Warren is a huge park built over a highway. We love going there for yoga on Sunday mornings and then walking to brunch. It also has a kids’ area and fountains that we like to play in (you know, just to cool off). The best way to get to the park is by riding the historic trolleys from West Village.

Another fun thing to do is to go on the Ronald Kirk Bridge (Continental Bridge). It is a pedestrian bridge with all sorts of amenities, such as a water play area, a climbing gym, and there are sometimes booths stationed on the bridge so you can buy things. The best part, though, is that it goes over the Trinity River, so you get a beautiful view of the river and the city of Dallas. There are even trails that connect to it and people love walking or riding their bikes on the trail (but don’t go too far because it will lead you straight into another city).

Another favorite place to visit is the Perot Museum. It is a huge science and nature museum with a billion exhibits in it (again, exaggeration, but I am close). Not only is the building beautiful, but there is so much to learn inside. Out of my whole family, my sister loves the Perot most (she is the science-y one). They have just about everything imaginable in this world (and outside of it).  

The last place I want to tell you about in this category is the Dallas Arboretum. It is a little outside of Downtown but near my neighborhood in East Dallas. The Arboretum is the perfect place to go on a beautiful day when all you want to do is waste time doing something worthy of your time. They have beautiful flowers year-round and pumpkins in the fall. We often meet up with friends for Thursday night concerts on a huge lawn that overlooks White Rock Lake. 

Seasonal Schedule
If you are looking for something to do over Thanksgiving or Christmas, I recommend a couple of activities that are super family-friendly and social. On Thanksgiving Day, there is the Turkey Trot in Downtown. It is a lot of fun and you can be in the race or watch from the sidelines. I did it for the first time last year with my mom and uncle. It is great exercise and great people watching. This year will be extra special because it is the 50^th year of the event. 

For Christmas, we either go to Main Street Gardens to see Santa appear or to Klyde Warren Park. In the past, Downtown Dallas, Inc. and Neiman Marcus have made Santa’s entrance a big surprise and spectacle. From there, the crowd watches as a giant tree is lit. In recent years, Klyde Warren Park and the Dallas Arts District have had grand Christmas events as well. We look forward to upcoming months to enjoy these seasonal activities in Downtown Dallas. 
 
(Editor's Note: Kenzie is a 12-year resident of Dallas. Her mother Dorcy is a staff member of the Office of Economic Development.)