Old Lake Highlands has five holiday dates left on its calendar between this weekend and mid-December. Every one is a neighborhood production, set on a residential street, a church lawn or a back table at a Casa Linda burger place. The Old Lake Highlands Neighborhood Association keeps the list on its event calendar.
The first date is a Saturday morning in a garden that neighbors have kept up since 2010, and part of what grows there leaves the neighborhood for a food pantry on Garland Road. That pantry had its biggest year on record in 2025.
The dates, in order
| Date | What | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Our Garden workday | Listed at Parkhurst Dr. & Waterview Rd. | 9 to 11 a.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | White Rock Center of Hope drive-thru food distribution | 10021 Garland Rd. | 10 to 11:30 a.m. |
| Nov. 30 | Jingle & Mingle holiday market vendor applications due | Online | All day |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Fifth Annual Jingle & Mingle | Parkhurst Drive | Noon to 3 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 8 | Holiday Decoration Contest judging begins | Across Old Lake Highlands | 6:30 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 15 | December Book Club + Book Swap | Rodeo Goat Casa Linda, 1200 N. Buckner Blvd. | 6:30 p.m. |
A garden with no plots and no dues
Our Garden sits on the grounds of Lake Highlands Baptist Church at 642 Brookhurst Drive. Neighbor Bobby Rodriguez started it in 2010 to bring people together around shared gardening. According to its About page, Jaye and Jerry McClure now manage it and bring more than 20 years of gardening experience.
There are no assigned plots and no membership fees. The garden's site says its produce is free to pick and asks visitors to follow what it calls the "Honorable Harvest," which means taking only what they need. Its crop list includes lettuce, snap peas, mint, carrots and radishes, along with warm-season crops like okra, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and blackberries.
The garden has handed food to the neighborhood before. In December 2021, the Lake Highlands Advocate reported that Rodriguez was giving away extra broccoli, kale and cauliflower for pickup at the church garden. The arrangement now has a set destination. A portion of each harvest goes to White Rock Center of Hope to provide fresh produce for families who need it.
Saturday, November 21, from Brookhurst to Garland Road
Workdays fall on the third Saturday of each month, and November's is this Saturday. The neighborhood association's calendar lists it from 9 to 11 a.m. at Parkhurst Drive and Waterview Road. The jobs this time are adding compost, planting and weeding. Volunteers of all ages are welcome and need no gardening experience. The garden supplies large tools and instructions. Bring your own small tools if you have them, and bring water.
An hour after the workday starts, White Rock Center of Hope begins its drive-thru food distribution at 10021 Garland Road, which runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The center holds these distributions on the first and third Saturday of each month, with no pre-registration. Its service area covers ZIP codes 75214, 75218, 75223, 75228 and 75238. That makes 75218, the ZIP for the garden's own Brookhurst address, part of the pantry's home territory.
The center began in a church basement in 1988 and moved to its Garland Road location in 1999. The busiest year of those nearly four decades just ended. The center's 2025 impact report covers November 2024 through October 2025. In that year it helped 14,664 unique people with food, clothing and financial assistance, 98% more than any earlier year. It also distributed 1,017,401 pounds of food, up 32% from the previous year.
The pantry has been adding capacity to match. In March 2026, the North Texas Food Bank reported that new walk-in refrigeration had expanded the center's capacity. The center has also moved to a client-choice model, where neighbors pick their own items. Cold storage is what makes fresh lettuce and carrots useful to a pantry, so the garden's harvest has somewhere to go once it arrives on Garland Road.
What the pantry asked for before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one week from today, on Thursday, Nov. 26. The center's Summer 2026 newsletter lists the items its pantry needs for the holiday:
- Stuffing mix
- Fried onions
- Green beans
- Sweet potatoes
- Cranberries
The covered donation door at 10021 Garland Road takes nonperishable food, clothing and household goods Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on holidays. Saturday morning's workday ends at 11, and the donation door is open the rest of that day. A bag of green beans and cranberries can ride along to Garland Road. The center's Get Involved page calls food and hygiene drives its greatest need. Anyone who wants to organize one, such as a block or a book club, is asked to contact its Volunteer and Communications Manager. The same page has a sign-up for volunteers at the Saturday distributions.
Neighborhood restaurants have used the center as a link before. Last December, the Lake Highlands Advocate reported that the center connected Thanksgiving meal recipients with JJ's Cafe, which prepared more than 400 meals for more than 50 families.
Parkhurst Drive takes over on December 5
The neighborhood association's Fifth Annual Jingle & Mingle runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from noon to 3 p.m. on Parkhurst Drive. It includes bounce houses, face painting, photos with Santa, music and raffle prizes. Raffle entries are for association members, who check in at the membership table. The association posts road closures and its special event notice on its neighborhood map page.
Food and drink are pay-to-order from four vendors:
- Burger Schmurger, run by Lake Highlands neighbor Dave Culwell and reported at 718 N. Buckner Blvd. by the Lake Highlands Advocate.
- Taco y No Llores
- Pop Popcorn, whose shop is at 9850 Walnut Hill Lane.
- Monster Yogurt
The holiday market is open to local artisans and small businesses selling everything from handmade trinkets to baked goods. If that describes your kitchen table or garage workshop, the vendor application is due by Nov. 30. The fee is $25, vendors bring their own six-foot folding table, and setup starts at 10:30 a.m. on event day. Spots are limited, and the association reviews applications before confirming anyone.
The garden, the pantry and the market all run on volunteers. Our Garden calls itself volunteer-run and community-sponsored. White Rock Center of Hope counted 1,550 individual volunteers in its 2025 impact report. The Jingle & Mingle market is made up of neighbors selling to neighbors.
Porch lights on the 8th, a book swap on the 15th
The association's Holiday Decoration Contest starts judging Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 6:30 p.m. To enter your own house or nominate a neighbor's, email [email protected]. The winner gets a trophy, and the association announces it on its social media.
The season's last listed event is indoors. The neighborhood book club meets Tuesday, Dec. 15, at Rodeo Goat Casa Linda, 1200 N. Buckner Blvd. Mingling starts at 6:30 p.m. and discussion runs from 7 to 8. The December pick is Chris Whitaker's All the Colors of the Dark, and the evening doubles as a book swap. Newcomers can reach the club at [email protected]. The club already has its next meeting on the calendar for Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2027, at the same table.
Our Garden's next regular workday falls on the third Saturday of December, Dec. 19. Check the garden's workday page or the association's calendar for the time, because the garden shifts its hours with the seasons and holds winter workdays in the warmer afternoons.
Jenny has worked alongside East Dallas neighbors for more than 35 years, and seasons like this one, built by the people who live here, are part of why the neighborhood holds its value. If you live in Old Lake Highlands or the Peninsula and want to know what your home is worth this winter, Jenny Capritta can walk you through it over coffee, with no pressure. Get your free home valuation.
