After being on hiatus for the past two years due to the pandemic, Richardson’s Cottonwood Art Festival and the Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival are back.
Cottonwood, a semiannual art festival that showcases work from over 200 artists, will take place May 7-8 at Cottonwood Park. The three-day Wildflower Festival, featuring live music and more, will be May 20-22 in Galatyn Urban Park.
“The fact that we’re able to plan and implement events of this magnitude is indicative of the reputation we have as a city,” Richardson City Manager Don Magner said.
In addition to being a community resource, officials said the festivals also generate revenue for the city.
The nationally recognized Wildflower Festival is among the top entertainment draws in the metroplex each year with more than 70,000 visitors annually, according to a 2019 report published by the Dallas Regional Chamber. City budget documents show Wildflower generated nearly $750,000 in revenue for the city annually in fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Other arts festivals, including Cottonwood, generated a total of more than $420,000 during those same years, officials said.
The return of these events is expected to provide the city an economic boost, Magner said. According to Richardson’s fiscal year 2021-22 budget, Wildflower will generate nearly $536,000 in revenue. The city’s other arts festivals are projected to generate over $305,000. These two sources account for about a quarter of the city’s budgeted revenue in the category of recreation and leisure service.
Being able to hold these events in 2022 has been a major priority for Richardson, Magner said.
“It’s an amenity that we’re able to offer opportunities for the community to come together and to celebrate,” Magner said, adding that local companies and sponsors also benefit. “It’s a way to bring customers and potential clients to the city and expose them to what Richardson has to offer.”
This year, Wildflower will feature 39 music acts, including Texas-based alternative rock band Toadies. Bassist Doni Blair said he and the rest of the Toadies group appreciated the opportunity to headline an event, such as Wildflower, after missing out on touring for much of the last two years.
“It’s always so much fun playing there,” Blair said. “We love [playing at the Wildflower Festival] so much because every time we play there it’s always a great crowd.”
What is new this year
Dianna Lawrence, the city’s community events manager, said organizers have used the past two years to fine-tune services.
“We really took time to look through the way that [residents] are experiencing the festival and try to enhance each festival for our guests,” Lawrence said.
She said this year’s Wildflower Festival will feature classic events, such as the battle of the bands, songwriting competitions and an art guitar auction.
“Every year, we try to spotlight new artists, new performers and change our activities in our kids area to keep it new and fresh for everyone,” Lawrence said.
A nearby construction project will shut off access to one of the main stages Wildflower has used previously, according to Serri Ayers, Richardson’s superintendent of community events.
“However, we are hoping to bring in a lot of fun things for everybody to do, to the point they won’t realize the stage is missing,” Ayers said.
Lawrence said she loves that Cottonwood gives local performers an opportunity in addition to the art it showcases.
“I know that’s been an initiative and a goal for us,” Lawrence said.
Behind the scenes
Festival organizers are working with tighter budgets this year. The city budget for Wildflower is about 27% less than it was in FY 2018-19, while Cottonwood’s budget is more than 30% less. Inflation is also a factor in this year’s plans, Magner said.
“Everything from the stages themselves to the sound technicians are going to cost more this year,” he said.
He said he also fears there may be fewer vendors who participate this year.
“[When planning began], things were still very unclear about where the pandemic was going to head,” Magner said. “I believe that caused some participants to question whether this was the right year to return.”
As city-run events, both Wildflower and Cottonwood have benefited from participation among different departments, officials said. This includes planning traffic closures with police and coordinating ticket sales with the city’s finance department.
“Pretty much every department in the city has their part in making Wildflower and Cottonwood special,” Ayers said.
The city also taps up to 1,000 volunteers, officials said. Volunteer duties include ticketing at gates, operating the wristband program and running the children’s area.
“Our volunteers are an extension of us at the festival, and they are providing exceptional customer service and assistance,” Lawrence said.
Getting up to speed
Beyond these special events, Richardson also has the Charles W. Eisemann Center, which serves as the premier arts and entertainment center in the city, the venue’s Executive Director Bruce MacPherson said.
The center, which is funded mostly through the city’s hotel/motel tax revenue, has remained in operation for the majority of the last two years.
Attendance at events in 2022 has been down as much as 50% compared to past years, MacPherson said. Among the events seeing less attendance is the center’s presenting series, which brings artists and performances from across the country to Richardson. However, last year’s series had less than half the number of performers as the 2019-20 season, MacPherson said.
“In all honesty, it’s gonna take about two to three years to get us back to where we were prepandemic,” MacPherson said.
The city-run venue also has struggled to retain staff. MacPherson said he is hoping a return of larger audiences will allow most of the center’s positions to be rehired by the end of its fiscal year in September, when the center will also celebrate its 20th anniversary.
MacPherson said the center has benefited from Shuttered Venue Operators Grant funds. Provided by the Small Business Administration, these grants have allowed necessary maintenance work to be completed at the Eisemann Center. MacPherson said the center has received over $1.2 million in grant funds.
Serving the community
City officials said the goal behind public events is to provide an outlet for residents to have a good time.
“Our city events have been going on for 25-plus years,” Lawrence said. “It’s truly ingrained in our community for generations to come.”
Blair said he and his bandmates are thrilled to headline Wildflower and provide a “rocking” show in Richardson.
“It’s a big deal to go up and headline with a lot of other great bands,” Blair said. “We know it’s going to be a fun time, and I appreciate everyone who’s going to come out and see us.”
