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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Music and Fashion

Miranda Lambert's 'Velvet Rodeo' wardrobe stars in new DFW exhibition

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” at National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame

Photo by Tyler Conrad

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” will open on November 7 at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame.

Country star Miranda Lambert is bringing a bit of Las Vegas glamour and bling to North Texas. Her one-of-a-kind wardrobe from her "Velvet Rodeo" residency will go on display at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth when its new Icons Gallery opens November 7.

According to a release, the exhibition, called "Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo," was created in collaboration with Lambert, and will feature costumes from the singer's Las Vegas residency, which ran from September 2022 to April 2024.

Lambert said her inspiration came from an earlier visit to the Fort Worth museum, where she spotted historic Western pieces that she photographed and sent to her stylist, Tiffany Gifford. They combined those influences with the glitz of Elvis Presley's heyday to create the "Velvet Rodeo" wardrobe.

“Seeing these pieces now have a life beyond the stage as part of the Museum’s new Icons Gallery feels really full circle and special,” Lambert said in a statement.

Visitors will now have the opportunity to study garments usually seen in motion and under stage lights, appreciating the details that help transform clothing into an essential part of a performance.

The Icons Gallery is part of the Museum’s 16,000-square-foot expansion, which introduces new galleries and experiences that explore the accomplishments and influence of women of the West. The $19 million expansion features a new entrance facing Dickies Arena, new galleries including a photography gallery, an event space accommodating up to 250, and the new Cowgirl Carousel.

Miranda Lambert, right, with rodeo queens onstage at the 45th Cowgirl Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon at Dickies Arena. Photo by Ashley Gongora

Lambert, who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2021, is an active mounted shooting competitor and horsewoman, giving her a connection to the West that reaches beyond her music. "Velvet Rodeo" brings together Lambert's identity as a cowgirl and her creative expression as a performer.

“Miranda’s confidence, determination and independence make her a wonderful representative of the women we honor,” says Pat Riley, executive director of the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame, in the release. “Opening our Icons Gallery with this collaboration celebrates her accomplishments while giving visitors a new way to connect with a cowgirl they know and admire.”

According to a museum spokesperson, the temporary exhibition will remain on display for at least one year; no specific end date was given.

In preparation for the expansion grand opening, the Cowgirl will be closed to the public beginning October 19 and will reopen November 7, with a members-only preview at 10 am and a public opening at noon.

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2 favorite spring festivals brings beats and brushstrokes to Richardson

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