Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival is back. What to see and when to worry about storms
On Wednesday, artist Richard D. Wilson Jr. was one of the first to get his display set up at the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival.
It was still 24 hours before the festival officially opens — which runs Thursday through Sunday — but Wilson already had one fan checking out his artwork.
Yet Wilson knows unpredictable springtime weather could affect his business this weekend.
“It seems like we always get one day where it rains,” Wilson said.
And that appears to be true this year.
Thursday and Friday look like near-perfect weather with highs in the 70s but the threat of storms will return Friday night and Saturday.
“The best chances for rain will be Friday night through Saturday with large hail being the biggest concern,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Patricia Sanchez. “Everybody should see some rain.”
Temperatures will also be cooler this weekend with highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid-40s Saturday night. It should be drying out by Sunday afternoon with temperatures in the upper 60s.
Claire Bloxom Armstrong said the festival tries to stay open throughout the four-day event but safety is the No. 1 priority.
“Main Street comes at a time of year when Texas weather is at its most unpredictable, so we brace for mother nature’s mood swings well in advance,” she said in a statement.
She said the festival works with the National Weather Service, the city of Fort Worth and a storm-spotter network.
None of that is a deterrence to Wilson. He drove 21 hours from his home in Greenville, N.C., including a detour through South Carolina to deliver a painting.
And there’s a good reason he’s excited. He was last year’s Best of Show of winner and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal as one of the most successful festival artists in the country.
“If I could only do one festival a year, this would be it,” Wilson said. “I get business from Texas throughout the year for this one event,” Wilson said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2019 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival is back. What to see and when to worry about storms."