reliant energy show

The year Colby was born (2015), I randomly found out about the Reliant Lights Your Holidays concert and fireworks show in Dallas.  It was on a Sunday night, and we made a spur of the minute decision to just go check it out.  We bundled up our 2.5 year old Brooke and 5 week old Colby and were pleasantly surprised with how easy the whole event was.  Parking was a breeze, the live music was a lot of fun, and the fireworks show was SO good!  The next few years I tried to find more information about it, but it seemed like they weren't doing it anymore.

Fast forward to this year, and I decided to google it one more time.  Sure enough, the event was on at the AT & T Performing Arts Center and I was super pumped.  Especially because it was on a Saturday instead of Sunday.  We invited family to join us, but only Jerry and Bev were available to come.  I read somewhere that they would have food trucks again, but as we started making final plans, I couldn't find that information anywhere.  I called the box office and they assured me that, yes, food trucks would be on site. We agreed to all meet at 5:30, eat from the food trucks, and be ready for the show to start at 7. 

Well, all was going according to plan (except having to pay nearly $20 to park) until we found out that the food trucks actually weren't on site! They were actually over at Klyde Warren Park, which should have been about a 10-12 minute walk.  But with our whole group, and the foot traffic from an event that just ended at Klyde Warren, we didn't get there till probably 6:15.  I felt so bad that we were rushing to get food and get back before we missed the show, but I HAD tried to confirm the details for the evening.  In the end, we all had amazing food from the trucks, and even bought the kids a homemade ice cream cookie sandwich to eat as we made our way back for the fireworks. 

We found a spot to stand and wait, then probably 3 minutes before it was set to start, Colby announced that he needed to go potty.  Seriously, kid! Worst timing EVER, haha.  He and I had just made it to the porta-potty as the fireworks started.  We watched from a distance before making it back to our crew, but it was another fantastic show.  I guess when you are a huge energy company, you can pay to put on an amazing show!  They were shooting them off of a tall building right across from the Performing Arts Center, and my favorite part was the spinning lights and fireworks that were all along the top of the building and then cascaded down the side. 

They also gave out free Santa hats with flashing lights, which pretty much made my kids' night!

Oh, and we can't forget about the crafts!!  Brooke was REALLY looking forward to doing the crafts, but since dinner turned into a huge adventure, we didn't have time before the fireworks started.  We looked for the craft area after the show, and everything was still available. Grandma and I helped the kids make snow globes, ornaments, and paper fans with jingle balls.

You really can't get better than food trucks. fireworks, free hats, and multiple kid crafts :)  I'd say it was a successful night.