Best Day Ever

5 reasons Richardson’s Cottonwood Art Festival should be on your must-do list

Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson is one of the top art events in the United States.

Photo courtesy of Cottonwood Art Festival

Whether you’re an art newbie looking to launch a collection or you’re already an avid collector, Richardson’s Cottonwood Art Festival, May 7-8, is a can’t-miss event. The two-day semiannual show (the second event is the first full weekend in October) is free to the public and showcases artists from around the world. It also happens to be held in a scenic park setting and offers a stellar lineup of live entertainment.

Here are the top five reasons you should be adding it to your must-attend list:

1. The art is curated and selected by a jury, making it top-notch (i.e., not just anyone can show up and sell handicrafts). This year, 240 artists were selected from the 720 who submitted work for consideration in 14 categories, including 3D mixed media, ceramics, jewelry, leather, painting, photography, and sculpture.

2. The location is superb. Cottonwood Park is a scenic space dotted with a quaint little lake, complete with ducks (always a win with the kiddos). In general, the festival itself isn’t overcrowded, so you can actually see the art and navigate your way around without feeling like a fish swimming upstream.

3. New as of last year is a special craft beer garden, which features 13 beers on tap from some of the most popular local breweries in the area. (Word to the wise: Do your shopping before you imbibe.)

4. It’s family-friendly (remember the ducks?), and it offers an interactive kids’ area called ArtStop, where the little ones can draw, paint, sculpt, and do pretty much anything else creative all in the name of art. Dozens of activities are available, from chiseling plaster and playing with a potter’s wheel to painting a pint-size masterpiece. It’s the perfect way to find out if you have a budding Picasso on your hands.

5. After you’ve had your fill of art, you can stop by the lakeside courtyard and catch some stellar live entertainment. Blues, jazz, country, rock, swing — you name it, and, most likely, there will be a band performing it. This year’s lineup includes the Gypsy Playboys, Texas Flood, Marc Toussaint, and Riders Ford, among others.

Season Announcement

Kitchen Dog Theater unleashes immersive 2025 season in new Dallas space

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Safe at Home

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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Seven years after announcing it had purchased a building in the Design District, Kitchen Dog Theater is finally ready to move into its new home.

The third and final production of its 2025 season — the theater company's 34th — will take place all around the new "Doghouse." The other two productions will follow the immersive format at non-traditional performance spaces that was established last season.

With three fully produced events that each run the gambit from captivating and gutsy to heartfelt and hilarious, the monthly New Works Festival Staged Readings Series returns, as does the 23rd annual PUP Fest, nurturing high school talent from all over DFW.

First up is the area premiere of Will Eno's Wakey, Wakey, directed by KDT's artistic director Tina Parker and starring KDT co-artistic director Christopher Carlos.

"Is it now? I thought I had more time." These first words in Will Eno's play are spoken by Guy, a man who knows, like all of us on some level, that he is about to die. The play questions why we are here and the journeys that everyone takes to eventually get to the same place. Performances will take place at Expo Park, 840 Exposition Avenue, and run February 7-23, 2025.

Production No. 2 is full of mystery: The title and performance location will be announced soon and run in March/April 2025.

The Happiness Gymby Ken Weitzman closes out the season in August 2025 (exact dates TBA).

This regional premiere is a joyous, experiential event based on the science of well-being. Participants take part in a curated theatrical experience meant to boost their sense of happiness, joy, and feelings of connection. This one-of-a-kind project will be the soft opening to Kitchen Dog’s new theater and will take place all over the entire facility, giving patrons unparalleled access to KDT’s new home.

From March to July 2025, the 26th annual 2025 New Works Festival will showcase four-to-five staged readings of the newest and most exciting local and regional playwrights working in contemporary theater today. Each reading will feature some of DFW's most accomplished actors and directors and will take place at different venues across DFW.

For its 23rd annual event, PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. PUP Fest is the culminating event of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players. Performance location is TBA, but the event will happen June 7, 2025.

For more information, visit kitchendogtheater.org or call 214-953-1055.

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