Autumn at the Arboretum: ¡Mundo México!

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, which welcomes over one million visitors annually, reimagines its beloved autumn festival with Autumn at the Arboretum: ¡Mundo México!, presented by Reliant, running Sept. 20 through Nov. 2, 2025.

Building on years of horticultural excellence that have made it one of America's premier fall attractions, this year's festival transforms more than 110,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash into an unprecedented celebration of Mexican living culture, contemporary art, and cross-border biodiversity, positioning Dallas as a national destination for fall and cultural tourism.

Spirit Guides Sculptures

At the heart of ¡Mundo México! are eight monumental sculptures from Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles. Based in San Martín Tilcajete, a Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico, Jacobo Ángeles and María del Carmen Mendoza create vibrant hybrid animal figures that draw from Zapotec cosmology. Their work is rooted in the concepts of the tona and nahual—spiritual beings believed to guide individuals based on birth date and character.

On loan from Denver Botanic Gardens, these large-scale works mark a rare opportunity to see the internationally acclaimed artists’ creations in a garden setting, underscoring the Arboretum’s role as a platform for contemporary cultural expression.

RELATED: A Guide to the Dallas Arboretum

A Pumpkin Village Rooted in Story

The Dallas Arboretum’s nationally renowned Pumpkin Village undergoes its most ambitious transformation yet, with seven architecturally inspired pumpkin houses, each honoring a different Mexican region:

• Casa Calabaza Azul – A pumpkin-covered homage to Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul, celebrating color, creativity and cultural pride (Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico).
• Templo de Kukulkán – A stepped pyramid of pumpkins and barrel cactus inspired by Chichén Itzá, honoring Maya ancestral wisdom (Yucatán).
• Casa de Flores Wixárika – Pumpkin blossoms arranged in vivid floral patterns echoing the intricate beadwork of the Huichol people (Sierra Madre Occidental: Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit).
• Casa Monarca – A vivid tribute to the monarch butterfly migration, with orange pumpkins, butterfly wings and fir branches evoking the Oyamel Forest (Michoacán).
• Casa del Zócalo – A festive gourd-and-squash house with fluttering papel picado & custom piñata, inspired by Mexico City’s central square (Mexico City, Mexico).
• Casa Zapoteca – Diamond-patterned walls, marigold garlands and glowing Barro Negro ceramics honor Zapotec heritage (Oaxaca).
• Casa de Saltillo – Red warty pumpkins, Talavera-style ceramics and serape fabrics pay tribute to regional artisanal tilework (Coahuila and Puebla)

RELATED: The Best Pumpkin Patches in Dallas-Fort Worth

Centerpiece installation: Cielo Tejido

Cielo Tejido: A Canopy of Culture and Craft – Suspended above Pumpkin Village, Cielo Tejido is a large-scale textile installation created exclusively for the Dallas Arboretum by a renowned artist collective based in Etzatlán, Jalisco. The colorful canopy reimagines Indigenous weaving traditions as public art, transforming the central walkway into a sky of bold patterns, intricate textures, and cultural storytelling.

By the Numbers:
• 1,188 hand-crocheted hexagons
• 180.2 miles of thread used (equivalent to the drive from Dallas to Oklahoma City and back)
• 3,500+ hours of collaborative labor (about 150 days of nonstop work)
• 396 square meters covered (larger than a professional tennis court)
• Weighs just 350 pounds

Blending traditional textile artistry with modern design and color-blocking, the installation invites guests to look up, linger, and reflect.