The Wildflower Arts & Music Festival is a 3 day celebration of local art as well as national and…read morelocal musicians. It's always held on the third weekend in May, rain or shine. The location can't be beat - centrally located right around the Eisemann Center at US 75 and Galatyn Parkway. Plenty of parking - free at surrounding businesses and paid at the Eisemann. Richardson residents can buy advance tickets at a lower rate. This year, tickets were on sale for Friday and Saturday and admission was free for Sunday. This year I happened to win free admission tickets! I always find several bands I'm interested in seeing. For almost the past 20 years, I have attended Wildflower, except for starting the year or two before Covid. About 7-8 years ago, I was at one of the main headliners and it was so crowded, that I did not feel safe. There were way too many people crammed in to the outdoor space and I thought if there was a true emergency, it would be really hard to get out safely. So this year, I checked the band line up and decided Friday night looked good. We met up with some friends and had a great time! I went to the country stage to see Jackson Dean and Justin Moore, visiting Blues Traveler at the main stage in between their showtimes. It's great to be able to have so many choices and genres available. Some singers are inside the Eisemann, so when it's really hot outside, it's so refreshing to go into the air conditioning and sit in nice comfy seats. For the outdoor shows, you can bring a blanket or lightweight outdoor chairs. There is a wide range of food and beverage options and lots of porta potties set up all around. You can shop at the various vendor tents sprinkled throughout. I always enjoy seeing the decorated guitars that are up for auction that are displayed in the Eisemann lobby. Thank you City of Richardson for putting together such a wonderful event every year! I know it must take A LOT of people and planning to pull off an event of this magnitude. There was a huge police, SWAT and volunteer presence and I am happy to report that I felt very safe at this year's event!

The cheapest, fun filled weekend in Richardson is at the Wildflower Arts & Music Festival. It's…read morethree days in May and includes live music on six different stages. Music genre varies, but there is usually a headliner or two that everyone knows. If you are a Richardson resident you can buy a ticket online in advance for $15 for the day. The headliner in 2026 was George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers, and the opening act was Blues Traveler. They performed on Friday night starting at 8:30 pm until nearly midnight. There were other musicians that performed throughout the day and evening on the various stages. Lots of vendors setup tents and sold or exhibited their items. There were local businesses, artisans, and food & drink vendors. You can easily spend the entire day and night here and be entertained, but if you only have an hour, you are still sure to have fun. Parking is free in the Blue Cross Blue Shield parking garages north of Lookout off Greenville. The street and festival have a lot of volunteers and police directing people. Signage was easy to follow. There is a bag security check at the entrance. Also, there are rules about what is and isn't permitted into the venue. You can bring a foldable lawn chair, blanket, one manufactured sealed water bottle with you. I recommend wearing a good pair of shoes because there is a lot of walking and standing around. The event is rain or shine, so your shoes might get muddy and wet in f there is inclement weather. There are paved sidewalks in a lot of areas, but there are also grassy areas that you might walk through. Most vendors take credit cards. There are activities for both adults and children. If you get really hot, you can seek shelter in the Eismann Center and enjoy the A/C. They have activities inside, too. I bought tickets for all three days because at the time of my advanced purchase, I didn't know who the bands were or what my availability would be that weekend. I only ended up going on Friday night. I was told that the event was free on Sunday, which surprised me since I had purchased tickets in advance for that day as well. I won't make that mistake again! If you volunteer, they give you a t-shirt for working the event and free admission on Sunday so that you can enjoy the event because you won't have time on the day you volunteer. I've only been to this festival about three times in the 9 years I have lived here, but I have enjoyed it each time. I especially love that I can enjoy inexpensive, live music in the city where I live. I've seen some great bands each time and always look forward to returning.

We had an amazing time at the Oktoberfest celebrations 2025 today…read more We Uber'ed our short trip from home to Downtown and saved ourselves the hassle of parking. At the fest, the air was electric and filled with excitement - both young ones and from their seniors! There was loud music being played live at different stages strewn across the entire downtown , people were swaying to it and really enjoying themselves between loud shouts of PROST !l before taking their next gulp of beer from their ginormous glasses! The food too being served at every corner - we're all the faire associated with Oktoberfest - bratwurst, Latkas, dogs, both corn and beef, and the bird - a solid leg of turkey along with 7 different types of beers! We immersed ourselves into the experience and came back home very happy and full. The best part was we felt right at home and plan to make attending this an annual tradition! Well done , McKinney !

Excellent time with the kids. They definitely enjoyed themselves. I will definitely return next…read moreyear.

$10 ticket $15 parking - remote was closed…read moreEvent was over by 8:25 am Emcee prattled on for over an hour and reminded us 7 times why we should leave early because the ballooners need to leave to get on the road. Campus police did little to nothing to help w flow of traffic. Old guys standing behind their cars on Jupiter and not helping w traffic. Major safety issues Don't waste time on Sundays. Balloons we fun but crowd was very disappointed

This is definitely an experience, first you have to navigate through some serious traffic. Get in…read moreline to park, then find a spot. I recommend parking where you can easily find your car. Once you park follow the crowds to the entrance to the festival. You are allowed to bring a blanket or lawn chairs, but it's a hike. Wear comfy shoes, and dress for the weather. This is an experience. For me this is my first for a balloon festival. So I made sure I did a little research. If you choose to ride the hot air balloon, it's 30 per person. Cash only. I recommend getting your cash at the bank to avoid their 4.00 fee for using their atm

I can't express the fun I had here. All the beautiful cars and nice people, I couldn't have asked…read morefor more. It is a shame teenagers with auto zone body kits showed up and were dough bags to the staff. I will miss coming out and having fun while also helping to support local non profits. I am saddened to hear that this next show, December 1st 2018, will be the last.

This is said to be the largest Cars and Coffee in the country. It is not just the largest but there…read moreis a wide variety from exotic supercars to custom Jeeps and trucks. Lots of great exhaust notes too!

Omg I loved this place. The honey, the lavender, and the amazing view. This place has it all…read more Beautiful animals with well kept grounds. I absolutely love their Christmas trees.

We had a great time here and found a beautiful tree. Some of the alpacas are a bit dominating to…read moreothers so it got a little nerve wracking trying to feed them with a toddler. There was a lot of flies at the truck with Santa in it which everyone wanted to take photos in so that was a bit gross but short of that it was a very enjoyable experience. My two year old went on their little train ride which was hilarious since she wasn't expecting that and I'm not sure I was either lol. She came back white knuckled and happy so it was fine. Lots of smoke from the fire pit made it hard to really smell any of the trees. It does add a nice touch to the place though and keeps folks warm which is a plus on these cooler December days. Prices on trees were quite fair (they are precut only this and possibly next year for many they have but still worth purchasing) and the one we got was perfect though they didn't trim the bottom as I asked them to do so we had to do that at home which was not anticipated but we got it done. I look forward to coming here next year. I usually go to Calloways and I wanted to find a local smaller, less commercial place to get my trees from and this one fits the bill. Next time I will be asking that they secure our tree since 380 is a nightmare when it's not gridlock traffic and you're trying to go 50mph down a windy road lol.

This was a fun drive thru lights experience, but it all started to become repetitive. It was also…read more pretty short one for the price compared to others. Over all a decent time.

You are initially welcomed with lights as you enter the park. We did not pay for the dasher pass,…read morebut we only waited about 2 mins to get through the gate. We got cotton candy and debated on getting the polar bear stuffed animal. It was really small for 25 dollars. The light show was spectacular and they had a radio station where the light show went to the beat of the music. The biggest negative is it took about 15 mins to get through the show for 40 dollars. It was also difficult to find the park hours on their website (ends at 11pm on weekends). If you fill the car (especially with kids) it is a worthwhile experience. If you need a late night activity to pass the time, give it a chance!

I was super excited to come here based on the description listed on the website. It's listed as the…read morelargest light installation timed to music with miles and miles of lights and horse drawn carriage rides. The website makes it sound so big and magical. Nope, just a small mall light display. It was super underwhelming. It did not even remotely live up to the hype. I couldn't even find the carriage rides but the light display was so disappointing we didn't even really bother to stop and park or look for it. It is pretty if you're shopping there, but not worth going out of your way to see. We drove a distance for this and it was super disappointing.

[Yelp 365 in 2014 Challenge - 355:365]…read more Christmas in the Square (sponsored by the Frisco Square Property Owner Association) is celebrating its 10th year!! Showcases by far one of the biggest and best light and music installations I've ever seen, as well as offers all the Christmas activities and treats a person - be it man, woman, child, or a perpetual female child like myself could ever desire! So. Much. Fun. Certainly very family friendly, but just as amazing for some romantic time for two. Of course the first thing you notice are the lights and music. Tune your radio to 107.3FM and take a slow drive through the "Winter Wonderland" that is Christmas in the Square. A mind-blowing 175,000+ (no, that was not a typo) lights with choreographed tunes (yes, you will probably here Mariah - they change it up a bit each year, but "All I want for Christmas is youoooo" is pretty much a staple)! If that wasn't enough to knock your socks off, park (yup, it can be tricky) and enjoy the rest of the fun. Of course there is a tree farm (yawn), peruse the shops for special seasonal goodies, slide down the "slopes" with a little snow "tubing," enjoy a hourse-drawn sleigh rides for 6 bucks a pop (p/p), check out Good Ole St. Nic and maybe take some pics, take your chances on the outdoor ice skating rink, and frolic in the SNOW. Yes, snow! Blowing throughout and covering the sidewalks - even during the warmest of North Texas winters. About 665,000 attend Christmas in the Square annually...and I'm so happy I've had the chance to be one of them so many times...because it's one of a kind, inexpensive and filled with holiday spirit. If I haven't "sold' you enough already by writing this review then BAH HUMBUG to you! You must be a SCROOGE! Tips: *Events are from 6-10pm nightly; closed on Christmas; this year from Nov 28 through Jan 3. **They have "special" events on some nights, like when Santa skydives in!...so be sure to check their online calendar.