Annual event delivers art, music, food, fun
One of the nation’s best art festivals takes over
downtown today.

By Allison Goertz
Staff Reporter

Cowtown and culture will merge today for the 19th annual Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival.

The four-day event will take place along Main Street from the courthouse to the convention center today through Sunday and will feature about 200 different artists from across the country who were selected from among 950 applicants. Some of the artists are from the area, but many are from different parts of the country.

Emily Moss, a junior radio-TV-film major who has been to the festival, said it’s a great opportunity to enjoy art.

“I just enjoyed walking the streets of downtown, listening to the live music, and looking at the artwork,” she said. “The festival appeals to both those who just like to look at art and those who are interested in shopping.”

Mark Merrill, an artist from Arlington who has been painting for a year, was chosen to participate in the festival. Because of his inexperience, Merrill said he was shocked when he learned that his work had been selected.

Before he began painting, Merrill was certain blue and yellow combine to make green, but that was all he knew about painting.

“Instead of watching TV, I started painting,” Merrill said.

The Arlington man, who works in sales and marketing by day, will get to show off his abstract and impressionistic work this weekend.

Artists from across the United States will also showcase their work and 15 different mediums will be represented, ranging from jewelry to painting. In addition to the artists, there will be more than 100 musical acts. One of the bands performing is local favorite Bowling for Soup, a repeat performance.

“They were such a hit last year,” said Cindy Fitzpatrick, festival co-producer.

The festival has been ranked as the top show in Texas on The Harris List, the art industry’s standard ranking directory. The list also ranked the Fort Worth art fair among the Top 10 in the Southwest, and among the Top 20 in America.

“The artists like to come here, because they like this marketplace,” Fitzpatrick said.

The festival showcases downtown Fort Worth and everything it has to offer, such as great food and culture, Fitzpatrick said. It brings about $19 million of economic impact to the city, she said.

“We sometimes take living in Fort Worth for granted, and often forget how much culture is here,” Moss said. “Fort Worth is a major hub for the arts and I think this festival is a good reminder we should all take advantage of the cultural events of the area,” she said.