This past Sunday my husband and I visited the Cottonwood Art Festival. This has always been one of my favorites in North Texas and this spring it was the best year yet! This is one of the few festivals that offer both a Fall and a Spring show. Most of the time the same artists are in both, but applications for each show are separate.
This spring show seemed to have a larger amount of new artists than I had ever seen at the Cottonwood. I have visited this show either in the spring or fall (or both!) for the past 7 or 8 years. I was thrilled to see so many new faces this year.
Why do I keep returning to this festival year after year? It has a large selection of high quality art, including jewelry and glass. I have a few favorites I like to visit each year including Betty Robbins, Niki Gulley and Jo Moncrief. One of my husband’s favorites is C.J. Bradford. Even better is that all four of those artists live in North Texas. Not all the artists at the Cottonwood are local but it feels good to support those that are!
This is great festival to take your kids (even the furry ones are allowed!) Artstop is the children’s area with several hands-on projects including pottery and painting. These activities have a charge but it’s very reasonable.
We don’t tend to go for the music or food (typical fair offerings…corn dogs, kettle corn, etc) but it’s worth noting there is a ‘beer garden’ area around the small stage. One of the artists told me the music was definitely a step up this year.
Oh…the best part? Admission is free! Worst part…parking can be a bear. There is a shuttle but even the website doesn’t say where to park to ride the shuttle. We usually find parking around the high school located just to the northeast of the park or in some of the local businesses along Coit to the west of the park. Mark your calendars…next show is this fall, October 3rd & 4th.
I didn’t think to take any photos of the show so I’ll leave you with, Magnolia, one of my latest pastel paintings.
Magnolia, pastel, 8″x10″ ©Charlotte B. DeMolay