The Margaret Hunt Hill bridge weekend festival celebrated its new architectural addition to the Dallas skyline. (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

The Bridge-o-Rama Festival brought thousands of Dallasites to the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge March 2 through March 5. The bridge, designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava, will be open to traffic later this month.

The weekend long festivities kicked off on Friday with a sold out celebration party headlined by a performance by Lyle Lovett and his large band.

At Friday’s event, performers meandered through the crowd in 14- foot Calatrava-inspired costumes.

Guests sampled from the chef of Trinity Groves, an upcoming 60 acre project in West Dallas.

Saturday morning, the eighth annual Trinity River Levee Run began by the bridge.

A large street fair overtook the bridge Saturday afternoon, offering food vendors, artwork and attractions such as a parade of builders, which highlighted those involved in constructing the bridge.

Dallas-based band Jonathon Tyler and Northern Lights performed in the evening, and a fireworks finale concluded the day’s entertainment.

Bridge-o-Rama events ended on Sunday morning with the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Celebration Sunrise Blessing and Ribbon Cutting.

The event also featured musical performances by the Orchestra of New Spain and the Street Corner Symphony.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings spoke of the bridge’s significance to the city as a symbol of unity between West Dallas, a primarily minority community disconnected from the Dallas, and the city as a whole.

“It is a symbol for that transformation that continues to make us a great city,” Rawlings said.

The past three mayors of the city, Ron Kirk, Laura Miller, and Tom Leppert, also spoke at Sunday’s ceremony.

Miller admired the sense of community the bridge created.

“I hope we see Dallas in the future with all of feeling the unity and the participation and the sense of great spirit and love that we felt this morning standing on the bridge,” Miller said.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson acknowledged the tremendous work that went into the bridge and the effect it will have on Dallas.

“The greatest reward for a public servant is to fight hard against real obstacles, to stick with it, and then see the end result, and say, it was really worth it,” Hutchison said.

Johnson said, “I spent all day yesterday in West Dallas, and the people are so pleased about finally feeling that they are connected.”

Architect of the bridge, Santiago Calatrava admired the “capacity to celebrate” at Bridge-o-Rama and spoke of the symbolism of the bridge he designed.

“This bridge is a monument to your faith in the future of your city. This bridge is a monument to your courage,” Calatrava said. “And this bridge is a monument to the love you all feel for your city.”

Among the thousands of participants at this weekend’s festival was SMU freshman Jackson McMartin, who attended the closing ceremony early Sunday morning.

“I decided to go to Bridge-o-Rama because I’m new to Dallas, but I think it’s a wonderful city, and the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge represents Dallas’ future and growth as a community,” McMartin said. “I found the community leaders’ speeches moving and encouraging,” he said.”I hope the spirit of this bridge percolates into the greater community.”

While Bridge-o-Rama ended this weekend, students can still take advantage of related events, such as the Calatrava exhibit at the Meadows Museum.