‘It’s completely night and day.’ Downtown Fort Worth crowds return for art festivities
Downtown Fort Worth has become reminiscent of pre-pandemic times during the city’s ongoing art festivities, with people dining and shopping along Main Street.
Romy Venegas, co-owner of Urban Plantology on Main Street, said Friday that having crowds from the Main Street Arts Festival and the Fort Worth Art Fair downtown has been a great experience. Both festivals continue through Sunday.
“I’ve never seen this many people around visiting the shop,” Venegas said.
This year marked the return of the Main Street Arts Festival after two years of cancellations because of COVID-19, and the addition of new event the Fort Worth Art Fair in Sundance Square Plaza. Since the pandemic’s start, several downtown businesses have closed or relocated, the next likely being Reata Restaurant, which announced in late March its intention to move out of downtown.
While some businesses have left, within the past year new ones have opened. Urban Plantology, which sells house plants, opened over a year ago, Venegas said. Usually downtown workers stop by the shop to pick up a plant for their office, she said, some stopping by weekly.
Venegas said they’ve seen an increase in customers this year, with the most visitors stopping in over the weekend because of the festival and fair.
“For us it’s been great, it’s a great opportunity,” she said.
Returning artists from across the country were also thankful to be back in the downtown crowds.
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Minnesota-based artist Jeffrey Zachmann said he’s gone to most Main Street Arts Festivals for the last several years. Zachmann’s booth of kinetic sculptures was a crowd-pleaser, with children and adults alike watching marbles tumble through the mazes.
Although he went to a couple of art festivals in fall of last year, he said this year felt different.
“This feels like the first real festival. People aren’t quite on as edge anymore,” Zachmann said.
The first day was more crowded than typical, he said, with hundreds of people visiting during the day on Thursday despite chilly wind gusts.
For artists like Zachmann who don’t have a gallery, coming to art festivals is major for business — it’s how he gets exposure for his work as well as sales from festival goers who remember him from previous years.
Mychal Mitchell, owner of Iona Handcrafted Books, said her opening day was successful, with several return customers stopping by her booth as well. Mitchell, previously based out of Austin but now Seattle, has come to the Main Street Arts Festival every year it’s been held since 1999.
Iona Handcrafted Books features leather-bound books with hand-torn pages, some with leather straps and others clasped together with antique door hinges and ice box locks.
“I would say [Thursday] about 80 percent of my sales have been to return customers,” Mitchell said. “They’ll buy a stack, especially because they haven’t seen me in a couple of years.”
Crowds from the art festival and fair continued to stop by downtown businesses as the festivities were in full swing Friday.
Patrick McGrew, owner of Union Station on Main Street, said the record and streetwear shop has been busy since the start of the festivities. Union Station opened its location a month ago. McGrew said he appreciated having shoppers come in and give praise and positive feedback on the shop.
This week, business owners in downtown Fort Worth have been able to see a difference from the last two years.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of the other business owners and they’re saying it’s completely night and day from COVID, or pre-COVID or a little after COVID to now,” McGrew said. “A lot of traffic is picking up, a lot more people are starting to come back downtown.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 4:11 PM.
