Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival opened Thursday morning, with 213 artists chosen from 1,000 applicants setting up stalls along 18 square blocks downtown. This was the first time the festival has been held since 2019.
"It's amazing," says Mary Filapek, an artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico. "It doesn't really feel like things are back to normal because this is better than normal."
"One of the great things about Main Street [Arts Festival] is it is a reintroduction to the public who might not have been downtown in a while," says Downtown Fort Worth Inc. President Andy Taft.
Downtown Fort Worth Inc. says more than 400,000 people are expected to attend.
"They can see all the new things that are happening, all the new hotels that have opened, the new buildings that have been built," Taft says. "We're really looking forward to hosting that big crowd."
Lisa Kattenbraker, an artist from Olympia, Washington, had paintings on batik cotton fabric featuring people and community involvement to show "how we can be together without being together."
"There's got to be hope in there, and I think the last couple of years when we were really struggling with not being together, it was important to at least visualize what it could look like after," she says.
"This is probably right at the top of my favorite shows to do," says John Herbon, an artist from Michigan who was showing pottery.
Herbon says Main Street Arts Festival draws collectors but can also give him a chance to reach more casual enthusiasts than he might see at a gallery.
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"With the amount of people who come, it's one of the best in the whole country. It literally is," he says.
This year, Sundance Square is operating an unrelated art fair on the Plaza. Fort Worth Art Fair is also free, but "VIP All Access Passes" cost $100, allowing access to events at bars and restaurants and also guaranteeing space on the Plaza during concerts. A schedule of concerts is available at fortworthartfair.com .
“Sundance Square is the heart of Fort Worth – a place where all are welcome. The plaza was built to showcase all things local and worthy of nationwide acclaim. Fort Worth is a supportive community for local artists, and a destination for art collectors. Supporting local art and music brings vitality to every community. It is integral that we support local and regional talent. Sundance Square is very proud to host an event in their honor," Sundance Square Chief Executive Sasha Bass wrote in a statement.
Artists, though, say they have had to change locations after setting up at the same spot for years.
"We've all had to try to figure out how to make it work," one artist said. "There's some frustration on some of the artist's part because we've all worked really hard to get here. It's a thing the artists have been talking about and the [Main Street] Art Fair itself has been really honest about."
"It's never been that way," another said. "We've always used Sundance Square for this show."
Sundance Square has not responded to questions about why Bass launched a competing event the same weekend as Main Street Arts Festival or whether leadership had coordinated with Main Street Arts Festival or the City of Fort Worth on planning the event.
Main Street Arts Festival is free, including access to concerts on four stages. Tarrant County College has set up a "Makers Zone" near Main and Weatherford. A wine and craft beer pavilion are set up between 1st and 2nd Streets.
Free water stations are set up at several locations. People can fill their own bottle or buy a 28 ounce commemorative bottle for ten coupons.
Available parking can be found HERE.
Details about Trinity Metro, TEXRail and Fort Worth Bike Sharing stations can be found here.
Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival runs until 10 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
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