by Trey Moran
The Main Street Arts Festival rolled into Fort Worth last weekend and since I am now a resident of downtown I felt I needed to get out and support the event. It didn’t hurt that there were at least three bands playing Saturday that I wanted to see. The city does a great job in planning this event and this year was no different. Main Street is shut down from basically the courthouse to the convention center with artists booths set up right down the middle of the street. A children’s workshop area was at one end and the main stage was at the other end. In between was sea of artisans, performers, food and people.
If you were in the market for artwork, wood carvings, jewelry or ceramics you were in the right place. There was many interesting pieces on display. There were so many vendors there was no way I was going to get through them all. It seemed there was something there for every budget and taste. The foot traffic was heavy through the booths with many people carrying purchases. It seemed there was a pretty good amount of business being done.
Food and drink vendors of varying types can be found at virtually every intersection. The usual festival fare of hot dogs, sausages, corn dogs and funnel cake were there along with some very good Greek and Cuban food. The Cuban sandwich and fried plantains were a nice change of pace. Beer, mojitos and margaritas (frozen and unfrozen) were available but based on personal experience be careful with those margaritas. The neon green color alone should have told me they were bad news and not to have two of them. Coupons are required for food and drink purchases and can be obtained easily throughout the festival.
Music is everywhere and the stages are spread out just enough so as you walk from one area to the next you are always within earshot of whoever is on stage. The main stage is set up at the end of Main Street in front of the convention center with smaller stages at Sundance Square and 7th street. There also musicians roaming about the festival. There was a great line up of music this year. I caught a bit of about a dozen or so acts. One band that seems to make the festival every year is Poo Live Crew. A local Fort Worth band that plays covers of pretty much every genre of music. I’ve see Poo many times and they are always high energy and very tongue in cheek. Playing every song from the “Top Gun” and “Back To The Future” soundtracks made the crowd happy but for me the best performance was a cover of Joe Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help From My Friends”. The vocals on this one were spot on and the band really turned it up a notch on the performance. Maybe the best song I’ve heard them play to date. Performances by Atlanta Rhythm Section, The Georgia Satellites and Havana NRG were also great to see.
It had been awhile since I had been to this festival and the downtown landscape has changed a little since then as well. Downtown Fort Worth has become a very walkable and enjoyable place. There is something for everyone here now. Get out and explore a little.
