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.

Lots of fun, and all things considered priced about as you'd expect. It's not super huge so it's…read moreeasily doable and all the food you'd expect to be at a fair is here and is spot on. There is a $5 entry fee per person starting this year which is reasonable imo. Parking is expensive if you pay on site so book ahead to save 1/2 on that front. You'll probably want to get that a day ahead though as you want to be able to snag it for your preferred time. That said there is. Rides are mostly 5 per with the occasional 6 to mess up your spending balance;) most games are 5 for one shot and 10 for 3. $tandard fare for a fair but wait! What's nice is you can add single credits though so yay! No extra fees for using the card other than buying a card initially for 3 bucks. Daytime is easier to visit of course but you don't get the lights. Nighttime you get more crowds but lights so choose ;)

It was not welcoming to anyone outside this ethnic group. They were rude and disrespectful. If…read morethat's how they want to treat others that are different than them they should really think about where they are. No one needs to be rude or disrespectful no matter your ethnic background. Do better and make sure your vendors respect all people.

$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 am glad I waited 3 years to write this review. This…read morefestival is getting worse and worse and we won't return next year. We are lucky we live close by so we always bike here, so at least we can beat the traffic and the horrific price for parking. First year they ran out of gyros, no joke!!! Second year, no baklava sundae , ran out. This year, not enough that the prices skyrocketed, some vendors didn't even make an effort to print new menus, they literally just crossed prices and put whatever they wanted. Or, they wanted to go with the last year price but seeing all other vendors increased theirs... hmmmm ,, yeah !! Us too! We tried the gyro, no flavor, mediocre at best, so expensive , $12 for just the pita and the meat. No side, and they all wrapped up on trays, God knows how long they stay there. Lamb sliders and fries was our next choice, nothing special there either. Again, store bought slider buns and not enough meat, not tasty, fries also stay under a heat lamp, the frozen type of course. Like can you guys make some effort at least??? Fast paced, long lines, order, pay, GET OUT!!! We were not impressed at all. Best thing was the baklava sundae for sure. So... bye bye OPA! Greek festival. We had enough of your traps.

Food is amazing. 3 days of fun music and incredible food. Lamb, pork, chicken , gyros, salads…read moreand enough pastry and desserts to sink a ship! And I am told they donate a huge % of the funds to organizations outside the walls of the church. Excellent!!!!

This is a great park when you're looking for a little escape for an hour or more. My family and I…read morevisited during the holidays, and we were able to walk through a magical world of lighted trees. It was a stunning sight to see. The lake really enhanced the experience. There are shops to grab a bite to eat near the water-walk as well, which is nice if you want to make the most of your visit. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

These holiday lights are nothing short of spectacular and it's free! Free parking as well. Lights…read moreare on from 5pm to 11pm(maybe 12am) Definitely a must visit!

PROST! Crowded it was this Saturday night. Long, long, long were the bier and food lines. Change…read moreof plan, strolled and shopped around. Stopped at all three music stages, clapping, dancing, and, learning polka the night away. Fun time. As we were leaving to grab a bite outside the festival, serenaded we were of "Sweet Caroline" with a polka beat. :)))))) CHEERS!

Always a great experience going here. Fun vibe and everyone is mostly pretty nice and giddy. Thurs…read moreand Sundays are usually free entry and fri and sat is ticketed. There's a good amount of food vendors and they take card. There's a couple of main areas with different shows, dancing, music, etc. Fun to come with friends or family and chill, eat good food, and drink beer. Something to look forward to every year and do on a weekend.

The Cottonwood Arts Festival is a biannual, 2-day event at the Cottonwood Park in southwest…read moreRichardson, TX. This is a juried event, so artists apply and a jury reviews and selects about 200+ artists to display and sell their impressive work. There is always a featured artist whose art is displayed on an event poster and a t-shirt for that spring or fall event. I can't usually afford any of the professional art pieces that sell for thousands of dollars, but I can always get the $20 t-shirt with a replica of one of the pieces of the featured artist. Some artists are aware that not everyone can afford the original on canvas, so they make smaller giclées that are more affordable for the masses. Even if you don't have the money or space in your place to buy, you can come and look for FREE! There is no cost to enter the festival. Plus, there are two stages of live music being performed all day Saturday and Sunday. Even parking is free across the street at the Richardson High School. You can also park in the neighborhood, but it isn't necessarily more convenient. Food often includes a few local places like Tongue and Cheek ice cream as well as a Gyro place. Of course you can also find a Fletcher's corn dog, and you didn't even have to drive to Fair Park for the State Fair. I love this festival and will always make a point of going and supporting artists if I can.

I really enjoy this arts festival. Each year brings both returning artists and new faces as well…read more We have been coming for many years. We always find something new to bring home. This year was the only exception. It looks like all the pricing rose out of our budget. But we still enjoy visiting all the booths especially the talented student artists, and seeing the live music. Park over at the school and take the free shuttle! Enjoy some delicious local beer while you browse!

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!