Stage Fright in Sammons Park: Dallas Police 'Stick-R-Treat,' a Zombie Dance Party and a Costume Contest on Halloween Morning
The Arts District's Halloween is a morning one: Stage Fright, the AT&T Performing Arts Center's free family festival co-presented by the Dallas Police Department, runs 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in Sammons Park - costume contest, petting zoo, adoptable puppies and all.
Sammons Park got Halloween morning. Stage Fright: A Halloween Family Festival, the AT&T Performing Arts Center's annual Halloween event, runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, in Sammons Park in the Dallas Arts District - this year in its fifth edition, and the second event in the Center's free 2026-2027 Festival Series. Admission is free, with an RSVP requested in the guide listings.
The co-presenter is the point. The festival is presented with the Dallas Police Department's Office of Community Affairs, and its signature activity is 'stick-r-treating' - a trail on which families visit DPD units and learn what each one does, treats included. Around it: the annual costume contest, a zombie dance party led by family choreographer Daunte "Cheesy" Borner, a DJ dance party, a petting zoo, creepy creatures from the Dallas Zoo in the guide listings, adoptable pets at the SPCA of Texas booth, and a spooky musical performance by students from Personalized Learning Preparatory at J.W. Ray Learning Center.
Stage Fright is the family end of a downtown Halloween that runs in shifts: the Arts District in the morning, the Día de los Muertos festival at City Hall Plaza and Treat Street in the Stockyards in the afternoon, Trick or Treat on Downtown Streets at Main Street Garden from 4 to 7, and the neighborhoods after dark. For the families who start at Sammons Park, the day is a relay - and the first leg is free.
