Art In Bloom

2 favorite spring festivals brings beats and brushstrokes to Richardson

Bring the whole family to this free event.

Photo courtesy of Cottonwood Art Festival

Add two festivals to the list of things blooming in Richardson each spring: Cottonwood Art Festival and Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival.

It’s the 56th year for Cottonwood Art Festival (May 3-4) and the 33rd for Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival (May 16-18). Here’s what you need to know about both:

Cottonwood Art Festival

What to expect: No matter your art personality type, you’ll find something to love amid more than 200 global artists’ juried work, spanning paintings and sculpture to ceramics, jewelry, fiber art, fine glass, woodwork, mixed media, and photography.

Make sure to look for this year's featured artist, Elissa Brown, an imaginative illustrator and storyteller whose whimsical works are equal parts heart and humor.

Her current studio is located outside Kansas City, Missouri, but this May, she returns “home” to Texas to share her newest creations at Cottonwood. Brown’s artistic brand, The Freckled Army, pays tribute to her grandmother, whose red hair and freckles she inherited.

She builds layered paper environments and woodcut characters that blend fantastical storytelling with what she calls “absurd narratives.” Brown's theatrical background in set design shines through in her work, which often feels like a scene from a storybook springing to life.

There’s also live music across two stages along with an arts-and-crafts area for the kiddos and plenty of food and drink for all on tap.

Where: Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Rd.

When: Saturday, May 3, 10 am-7 pm; Sunday, May 4, 10 am-5 pm.

Tickets: Admission and parking are both free, with shuttles running continuously between the park and the Richardson High School football stadium lot.

History lesson: Celebrating 56 years, the award-winning Cottonwood Art Festival is a twice-yearly juried show that has become a signature art event in the community and beyond. The festival also provides innovative outreach programs for students, with the goal of broadening interest in visual arts and bringing the art world into classrooms.

More details: CottonwoodArtFestival.com

Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival

What to expect: With six stages and 100-plus performers, including Young the Giant, NEEDTOBREATHE, The Revivalists, Cold War Kids, Sugar Ray, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, and more, your listening schedule will be packed at this fest.

Beyond the stages, the Prosperity Bank Marketplace is a one-stop-shop for local and regional accessories, art, home decor, apparel, and more.

There’s also art guitar auction, songwriter competition, and craft beer garden and Chloe wine garden. Plus, look for Wildflower! Kids, a family-fun zone with art, games, informative activities, and kid-friendly tunes.

Where: Galatyn Park Urban Center, located at Galatyn Parkway and U.S. 75.

When: Friday, May 16, 6 -11:30 pm; Saturday, May 17, noon-11:30 pm; Sunday, May 18, noon-6 pm.

Tickets: Friday and Saturday are $30 online ($45 at the gate), Sunday is $15 online ($25 at the gate), and kids 12 and under are free. Richardson residents can score tickets for only $15.

A three-day pass is $65, but the popular Friends of the Festival VIP package is already sold out. New this year is the single-day VIP ticket for $50, which grants you all the amenities of general admission plus access to preferred VIP seating at Methodist Richardson Medical Center Stage, complimentary food and beverages (including beer and wine), shade and relaxed seating in the VIP Hospitality Lounge, and one VIP parking pass. As of this writing, only Sunday remains for these new single-day VIP tickets.

Parking: Complimentary parking will be available within the nearby surrounding area. Festival-goers are encouraged to take advantage of the DART Red Line light rail, which stops at the Galatyn Park Station, located immediately adjacent to the west side of the festival grounds.

History lesson: Wildflower! began as a small community gathering in 1993 and has since become one of the most popular cultural events in North Texas, with tens of thousands of fans showing up for their favorite artists.

More details: WildflowerFestival.com

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Downtown Dallas news

Dallas Arts District picks Dallas College leader as executive director

Photo by Jaren Collins

Ahava Silkey-Jones

The Dallas Arts District has found its next leader: Ahava Silkey-Jones has been named executive director of the nonprofit that supports and promotes the downtown Dallas cultural district. She succeeds longtime executive director Lily Weiss, who retired earlier this year after more than a decade in the role.

Silkey-Jones joins the Dallas Arts District from Dallas College, where she served as vice provost of the School of Creative Arts, Entertainment and Design, a release notes. During her tenure, she led academic strategy, programming, and industry partnerships across seven campuses.

She brings more than 15 years of experience in higher education, nonprofit leadership, arts administration, and civic engagement.

"The Dallas Arts District is one of America's great cultural neighborhoods — a place where creativity inspires community, strengthens the economy and enriches everyday life," Silkey-Jones says in the release. "We have an incredible opportunity to elevate the District's national and global profile while creating an even more welcoming, connected and vibrant place for everyone who lives, works and visits here."

The leadership change comes after a busy year for the 118-acre district, which encompasses 19 cultural institutions and is billed as the nation's largest contiguous urban arts district. The district recently adopted a strategic plan centered on advocacy, placemaking, public safety, infrastructure, programming, and long-term growth, they say.

The area also took on a higher profile during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosting the RedBall Dallas public art installation and four major festivals that brought hundreds of thousands of local and international visitors downtown, they say.

Board chair Warren Tranquada, who is also president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, says Silkey-Jones has built a career around creating partnerships among the arts, education, and community organizations.

"This organization's role in shaping downtown's quality of life, economic vitality and global identity has never been more important," Tranquada says. "Ahava has spent her career bringing people together across sectors to create lasting community impact."

Silkey-Jones has received several recent honors, including the 2025 Obelisk Award from the Business Council for the Arts and recognition as one of Women We Admire's Top Women Leaders. She holds degrees from Harvard University, Roosevelt University, and DePaul University and serves on several local and national arts and education boards.

Former board chair Jill Magnuson, who stepped in as interim executive director following Weiss' retirement, will return to serving as a volunteer leader.

“Jill's leadership during this transition was invaluable,” Tranquada says. “She provided stability while also helping establish a clear vision for the future. Her work has left the organization stronger, and we are grateful she will continue supporting the Dallas Arts District as a volunteer leader.”

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Art In Bloom

2 favorite spring festivals brings beats and brushstrokes to Richardson

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