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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Ballet news

Texas Ballet Theater executive director leaving for new gig in Northeast

Photo courtesy of Texas Ballet Theater

Vanessa Logan joined Texas Ballet Theater in 2016.

Vanessa Logan, who has served as Texas Ballet Theater executive director since 2016, is leaving TBT for a new role in the Northeast, the company says. Her final day with TBT will be June 30, 2025.

The move will allow Logan to be closer to her family, the organization says. Her new position has not yet been announced.

"While we will greatly miss Vanessa and her leadership at TBT, we support her decision to do what is best for her and her family and wish her well in her new pursuit," says TBT board of governors chair Anne T. Bass in a May 19 release. "Throughout her tenure at TBT, Vanessa has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism. It has been a delight to have worked closely with Vanessa over the last nine years, and I am most grateful for her unstinting efforts that have advanced TBT in so many respects."

Logan joined North Texas' largest ballet company before the 2016-17 season; she previously had worked at the American Repertory Ballet in New Jersey and Boston Ballet.

"Being part of TBT has been an immensely enriching and transformative experience. Partnering with Artistic Director Tim O’Keefe, working alongside such talented artists, and collaborating with a dedicated administrative and school staff has been a true privilege," Logan says in the release. "I am also deeply grateful for the unwavering support of our committed Board Chair and the Board of Governors, whose vision and leadership have been instrumental. Contributing to productions that bring beauty and artistry to our audiences and nurturing ballet education for countless children in Dallas-Fort Worth has been incredibly rewarding."

During her tenure with TBT, Logan helped the company navigate through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 followed by a catastrophic winter storm of 2021; she helped smooth the transition of artistic director from Ben Stevenson to Tim O'Keefe in 2023; and she oversaw new school facilities in Richardson and Dallas. TBT has also begun a 65,000-square-foot renovation of its Fort Worth facility to support future growth.

"Vanessa’s support and partnership during the transition was phenomenal. I cannot imagine another leader better equipped to guide TBT seamlessly through such a transformational change," O’Keefe says. "Her steadfastness instilled confidence and built trust with staff, students and subscribers as she ensured that we held true to TBT’s mission of honoring classical ballet while embracing a new chapter of artistic evolution."

TBT’s Board of Governors will immediately start searching for Logan’s successor and will quickly name an interim executive director to oversee operations until a permanent leader is in place, they say.

Texas Ballet Theater, which is a resident company of both Winspear Opera House in Dallas and Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, just closed its 2024-25 season with O'Keefe's all-new staging of the beloved ballet Giselle.

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