In just eight years since its debut in 2006, The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival has garnered praise and recognition from the art community and visitors alike. Now in its ninth year, the event has been named the No. 1 art festival in Texas and No. 3 in the nation by Art Fair Source Book.

This year's event is scheduled for April 12 and 13 along The Woodlands Waterway and at Town Green Park.

"I think that the festival has always been accepted by the community," said Cindy Harden, president of the Waterway Arts Council. "I think we've always had a very good reception from day one."

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival was the brain child of Convention and Visitors Bureau President Nick Wolda, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion CEO Jerry MacDonald, The Woodlands Development Company co-president Alex Sutton and former Woodlands Pavilion CEO David Gottlieb, who all conceived of the idea nearly a decade ago.

"We wanted to bring the Waterway to life with events and festivals and activities, and [the art festival] was one of our very first ones," Wolda said. "We had initially developed a partnership with the Bayou City Festival in Houston and once we got to some maturity, we started producing on our own."

The Woodlands event now attracts more than 18,000 people annually over the course of the two-day event as well as about 200 acclaimed artists from around the country. The festival also features a variety of food booths, children's activities and live music.

An analysis performed by the council reported that the Waterway Arts Festival has an estimated economic impact of about $8.3 million.

"What we have found is that the artists and the patrons both love the environment of the Waterway," Wolda said. "They love the hospitality that is given at the festival itself."

Waterway Arts Festival, April 12, 10 a.m.–7 p.m., April 13, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., 2099 Lake Robbins Drive, www.woodlandsartsfestival.com