Main Street arts festival 2018

Main Street arts Festival is in full swing. It’s Saturday morning and I’ve already been twice! LOL!  Thursday I took some time to myself and took some pictures and walked around the festival alone. Friday I took Kendall and we had a girls afternoon. This festival has always been one of my favorite Fort Worth events. Artists from near and far come to display at this event and there’s always extremely interesting things to look at. Since I’ve been attending this festival for years, I wanted to share just a couple of my insider tips and insights.

My first recommendation would be to definitely dress in layers and come prepared for the unpredictable weather. We’re currently having gorgeous weather but it’s also been extremely windy lately. Unfortunately the forecast is showing storms today (Saturday) so if you’re headed there today definitely pack your umbrellas as well!  With Main Street Arts Festival being downtown, the wind plays a big factor. You never know whether it will be stagnant or a windtunnel. Friday morning it was extremely windy and felt quite cold. If the wind shifts it could end up being very warm, especially on the weekend when the crowds are larger. It’s important to wear layers so that you can add or take off whatever you need.

My second tip, and question I was asked most frequently, is about parking. I kinda hate to even give away my favorite place to park but I guess it’s better to share, right?!  My favorite place to park is off of Throckmorton and Jennings  near City Hall. This is on the south side of downtown. It’s not usually a crowded area. During the week there are people coming and going rather than a lot of people being parked there for work all day so they’re usually open spots. On the weekend all Street meter parking and parking garages are free in downtown, therefore any of this parking that I mentioning now around City Hall is free today and tomorrow. It’s also great because you don’t have to necessarily drive into downtown and deal with any of the traffic or road closures. There are also numerous spots that are back in only. I’m not afraid to parallel park unless it is in my husband’s truck LOL and I don’t even try in that. One of the best things about the back and parking is it makes it easier for people with larger vehicles like me. Sometimes there’s a few open spots so it makes it easier for me to open my doors and load my kid and stroller in and out of the car. There are also lots of trees in this area that provide a ton of shady parking spots. This location is about a two block walk to the convention center, and the Main Street arts Festival goes from the convention center north all the way to the courthouse.  If you’re attending the festival and want more detailed description of my parking, you can reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter and send me a message! Here’s a great resource for all of downtown parking

I really would not say that parking is an issue in downtown Fort Worth because of the abundance of lots, parking garage is, and parallel parking. But this tends to be in the area that I like to park in. If you like to go further into downtown and park closer to Sundance Square I recommend the free parking garage is. Sundance Square also has numerous red umbrella valet stations. If you are just attending the festival they will not validate your parking for valet. Valet parking will only be validated if you go to one of the Participating retailers in Sundance Square. This can be stores or restaurants that will validate your parking after purchasing something at their store or eating at the restaurant. If you plan to go to a restaurant or shop boutiques in addition to going to the festival, valet parking may be a good option for you. It’s free with validation, or you can pay the valet fee which I think is $20. It is not worth it to pay this fee in my opinion. There is a ton of free parking.

My last tip had to do with beer LOL but to be honest I’m not sure this tip applies anymore. I don’t want to advertise anything falls so I will look into it a little bit more and if it does still apply all update this post later or you can also send me a message on Instagram or Twitter

One last thing, this festival uses coupons. All food and activities are paid for with the coupons, which are a dollar apiece. Coupon stations all have signs telling you the average prices of certain items. I recommend adding up what you think you’re going to eat or do and buying that amount of coupons. If you need more you can always go back and add a couple of coupons here and there. You can buy coupons individually so in my opinion it makes sense to buy less than what you think you’ll need and add some at the end if necessary instead of buying a big amount and getting stuck with leftover coupons at the end.

I don’t know that I will make it back to the festival anymore this weekend, although I would like to even though I’ve been twice! There’s always new music and performances so every day is different. Kendall and I enjoyed a Fletcher’s corny dog yesterday and mama had a beer. It was a beautiful day with my daughter in our beautiful city that we can’t get enough of! Everybody remember that Mayfest is coming up! I love this time of year in Fort Worth!!

P.S. I just Wanted to share also that I’ve been having some technology problems lately, hence the reason there hasn’t been photography on my blog posts. I’m noticing that some of my photos are not even posting. So I’m working on that and I apologize for my blog posts not looking as nice lately! It’s always something! Hope y’all have a really beautiful weekend and you’re able to enjoy some time outside, weather permitting. If you’re in Fort Worth you could head over to my Instagram stories for a couple of screenshots of other things that are happening today!