Last November 30, Snider Plaza held a ribbon cutting and a tree lighting on the same afternoon. The city opened the event by celebrating the newly improved plaza. Then came music, photos with Santa, ice skating, and a snow slide. After dark the city lit four holiday trees around the new fountain.
Less than a year later, the 2026 Annual Tree Lighting is going back to Centennial Park, formerly Goar Park. It runs Sunday, November 29, from 3 to 7 p.m. The plaza is finished, so construction is not the reason this time. The rebuild itself explains the move. Snider Plaza was redesigned to work well on an ordinary Tuesday, and that layout leaves no room for the kind of single, towering tree the ceremony was built around.
The Plaza Was Rebuilt for Everyday Use
The Snider Plaza Phase I contract for surface improvements went to SYB Construction Co. for $15,664,531.60. It was meant to address aging infrastructure with landscaping, pavement and sidewalk upgrades, parking improvements, and stormwater work. The city had already finished the underground water and sanitary sewer work. Every item on that surface list is about how the plaza works day to day.
The fountain had its own separate contract of $1,661,510 with Greenscape Construction Services. Katie Barron, the city's engineer at the time, said the old fountain needed frequent maintenance because of its age. The replacement would meet code and run more efficiently. The new fountain was designed to closely resemble the old basin and pedestal, with added jets, LED lighting, and custom-cut stone. Neighborhood design meetings on it began in 2020.
So the centerpiece looks familiar, but the space around it does not. Wider clear sidewalks, ADA ramps, and protected parking access are improvements shoppers use every week. They also take up the ground a large seasonal tree once used.
Why Four Spruces Replaced One Big Tree
The city explained the change in the December 2025 issue of its newsletter, The Arbor. The 2025 display was four 12-foot blue spruces, one at each corner around the fountain. The trees were cut in Michigan and driven to Dallas. The newsletter said why:
"The size of the new fountain and the need to maintain clear sidewalks, ADA ramps, and parking access made it impractical to install a large centerpiece tree without significant street or parking closures."
The year before, the display had been a single 40-foot concolor fir in Centennial Park. In 2025 the tallest tree at the ceremony was 12 feet, less than a third of that height. City staff reviewed several options from the vendor over the summer before choosing four trees that fit the space safely.
People Newspapers described the same decision from the street. In 2025, the traditional large tree over the fountain gave way to four smaller trees because of changes to the fountain's design.
A Detour in 2024, a Decision in 2026
The ceremony has deep roots in Snider Plaza. In 2017, the SMU Daily Campus called that year's lighting the 11th, which puts its start around 2007. The last three years have changed it more than the previous decade and a half did.
| Year | Location | What was lit | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 2007 to 2023 | Snider Plaza | Large tree over the fountain | Long-running tradition |
| 2024 | Centennial Park | One 40-foot concolor fir | First-ever location change, prompted by plaza construction |
| 2025 | Snider Plaza | Four 12-foot blue spruces | Plaza reopened with a new layout |
| 2026 | Centennial Park | To be determined | Council direction on March 17, 2026 |
The 2024 move was a construction detour. The Park Advisory Committee recorded it as the first location change in the event's history, made necessary by work in Snider Plaza. The 2026 move came about differently. City Council took briefings on the event on February 3, March 3, and March 17, then directed staff at the March 17 meeting to hold it at Centennial Park. The plaza was open and finished during all three meetings.
The parking pressure the Arbor described came up again on August 18, at the same work session where staff reviewed tree lighting plans. The council discussed an Uber grant program that would give the city up to $50,000 for an on-demand ride program for retail employees. The goal is fewer employee cars parked in retail areas, including the Miracle Mile. Curb space in University Park's shopping districts is clearly in demand all year, and a festival that closes streets in December uses up a lot of it.
What November 29 Looks Like at Centennial Park
Centennial Park sits at 3800 University Boulevard, the city's address. The city's vendor application describes the event this way:
- When: Sunday, November 29, 2026, 3 to 7 p.m.
- Program: Live holiday carols and dance performances on the main stage, ending with the tree illumination
- Turnout: An estimated 3,000 residents and visitors each year
- Host: The City of University Park Parks and Recreation Department
A few details are still open. In August, staff discussed adding food trucks and whether this year's tree should be live or artificial. On August 27, the Parks Advisory Committee received an informational update with no action required. The event is funded from the General Fund. The height and species of the 2026 tree have not been announced.
A park can host what the plaza can't. There is room for a main stage and a crowd of 3,000 without closing the curbside parking that Snider Plaza's merchants rely on.
Snider Plaza Keeps Its Lights
Moving the ceremony does not leave the plaza dark. Staff told the council the city still plans to decorate the shopping area, including around the new fountain. At the August 18 meeting, staff gave recommendations for holiday décor in Snider Plaza along with the Centennial Park plans.
The coverage so far does not say how many trees will go up in the plaza, what kind, or whether there will be a separate lighting moment. The 2025 setup shows what fits. Four 12-foot spruces at the corners of the fountain stayed up all month as a backdrop for the season. Anything planned for 2026 has to work within the same sidewalks, ramps, and parking.
So University Park's holiday season now happens in two places. The gathering is at Centennial Park on one Sunday afternoon. The decorations stay on Snider Plaza through December, where people already run errands.
Highland Park's Tree Has Its Own Address
Highland Park has its own tradition and its own landmark. Its 2025 town tree lighting was on December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Landmark Pecan Tree, 4202 Armstrong Parkway. As of early October, the town's official December 2026 calendar does not list a tree lighting date. If Highland Park keeps its usual pattern, the two cities' ceremonies will fall about a week apart. The town has not confirmed this year's date.
Highland Park's ceremony has always centered on a tree that grows in the ground and stays put. University Park has had to rethink its centerpiece around a rebuilt plaza. For 2026, the answer is a stage and a tree in the park and lights around the fountain.
For Holly and Amy, the Snider Plaza rebuild is a reminder that public projects in the Park Cities affect more than pavement. They change how a block works, when a street is busy, and where a neighborhood tradition happens. If you want to talk through how projects like this affect the streets you know best, Holly Davis & Amy Farris are glad to share what they're seeing. Contact Us.
