Arts festival turns 30

April 7,2015

Thunderstorms are forecast for much of the next several days, but that is not an unusual weather prediction for the week of the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival, which begins its four-day run Thursday.

Despite the weather, a more solid prediction is that Texas’ No. 1 arts festival will attract more than 200 international artists, present more than 300 performances and accomplish its mission of showcasing downtown Fort Worth.

For the 30th year, the nine blocks of Main Street between the Fort Worth Convention Center and the Tarrant County Courthouse will be bustling with thousands of residents and tourists who come to celebrate art, music, a variety of cuisine and the No. 1 downtown in the U.S., according to Livability.com.

In addition to the fun-filled experience for visitors and the attention it brings to downtown, the festival’s overall economic impact on the city is close to $30 million.

Last year the weather prompted organizers to cancel the final day of the event, but it was still regarded as highly successful. We trust that will be true of this year’s festival, with or without the storms.