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18th annual · Oak Cliff, Dallas

Dash for the Beads Mardi Gras 5K & Fun Run

A Mardi Gras 5K, 1-mile fun run, and family festival on Davis Street, right before the Go Oak Cliff Mardi Gras Parade. Every dollar left over goes to grants for Oak Cliff kids.

Race day 2027
Date announced soon
Always the Sunday before Mardi Gras

Dash for the Beads at a glance

What
A Mardi Gras 5K, 1-mile fun run, and family festival
When
Sunday before Mardi Gras. 2027 date coming soon
Where
W Davis St by the Kessler Theater, Oak Cliff, Dallas
Start times
Fun Run 10:30am, 5K 11am, parade 1pm
Benefits
Grants for Oak Cliff schools and youth non-profits
Do the Dash

Run it, walk it, or just come for the parade

5K

Chip-timed. Starts on Davis Street near the festival and winds through Kessler Park, with a King of the Hill climb on Edgefield Ave. Medals for the top three male and female runners in nine age groups.

1 mile fun run

Perfect for the little ones. It starts before the 5K so parents can do both.

Festival

Music, food trucks, a Kid Zone, fresh mimosas and craft beer, then the best view of the Go Oak Cliff Mardi Gras Parade.

How your participation has helped

Every registration funds Oak Cliff kids

$325,000
Donations awarded
Since 2014
34
Organizations funded
Since 2014
$27,000
In free entries
To approx. 675 DISD kids over 3 years
1,000+
Runners
Approx. per year
Five runners in jester hats, tutus, and feather boas
Become a Sponsor

Put your business in front of thousands of neighbors

The Good Space Dash for the Beads runs back-to-back with the Go Oak Cliff Mardi Gras Parade. That means about 1,000 runners and thousands of parade-goers on Davis Street, and your logo on the bibs, medals, cups, and beads they take home.

Sponsorships start at $750. Logos are due for print by December 31.

Friends of the Dash

Not a business? Be a Friend.

For $250 a year, families and individuals get 2 race entries (5K or 1 mile) and their name on our website. It's the easiest way to back the Dash and the kids it funds.

Friends in gold Dash shirts, paper crowns, and jester wands cheering along the course
Hundreds of runners in hats and race bibs packed into the start corral, a Dallas Fire Rescue ambulance behind them
Mostly downhill with lots of cheering volunteers. Great atmosphere. Worth the few uphill battles. Will plan to come back.
Lisa Maxwell
Thank you

Our sponsors

  • Good SpacePresenting Sponsor
  • Methodist Health SystemCommunity Hero
  • Dallas Youth SportsCup Sponsor
  • Republic Title, Turtle CreekRace Bib Sponsor
  • Oak Cliff Brewing Co.Packet Pickup Sponsor
  • Jan Pruitt FamilyRace Start Sponsor
  • The KesslerGold Level
  • Schinkel PropertiesSilver Level
  • Blue Star DumpstersSilver Level
  • TLMBronze Level
  • Rafael AnchíaBronze Level
  • Gasper LawBronze Level
  • QualiGraphicsFriend of the Dash

Race photography by Tayo Fasusi Media.