Soggy grounds push Cottonwood Art Festival's Saturday opening to noon

Visitors headed to the Cottonwood Art Festival this weekend will have to wait until noon Saturday to get in. The City of Richardson announced Friday that the festival's first day will open two hours later than planned because rain has left Cottonwood Park waterlogged.

Crews began building the festival on Monday, and the city said repeated rain throughout the week slowed that work. About three inches fell on Thursday alone, according to the city, saturating the grounds where artist booths, music stages, food vendors and children's art areas are set up. Artists also started loading in roughly half a day behind schedule.

The later start is meant to give artists, vendors and festival staff time to finish preparing before the gates open, the city said.

Revised hours

• Saturday, Oct. 3: noon to 7 p.m. (originally 10 a.m.)
• Sunday, Oct. 4: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the normal schedule

The festival is at Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Road.

What to bring

The city is telling visitors to expect soft, muddy ground and possibly more rain, and to wear shoes and clothing suited to wet weather. The event goes on rain or shine, but activities may be paused if lightning or other dangerous conditions develop. If an evacuation is needed, Richardson High School is the designated severe-weather shelter.

The fall festival brings together more than 200 artists working in painting, sculpture, ceramics and other media, along with live music, food and craft beer. Paraná has said he applied to the festival five times before he was accepted.

Organizers also offer free bike valet and bike parking at the festival in partnership with the Richardson Bicycle Coalition and BikeDFW.

Updates, including any further weather changes, are posted at CottonwoodArtFestival.com.

Sources

richardsontoday.com

cottonwoodartfestival.com