The Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival is one of the largest curated art festivals in the country. And it's FREE.
Details:
- Date: April 16-19, 2026 (usually third weekend in April)
- Location: Main Street, downtown Fort Worth (Sundance Square area)
- Admission: FREE
- Hours: Thu-Sat 10am-10pm, Sun 11am-6pm
- Source: mainstreetartsfest.org
What's there:
- 200+ juried artists from across the country
- Paintings, sculptures, photography, jewelry, ceramics, glass, mixed media
- 4 stages of live entertainment
- Culinary arts area with food from Fort Worth restaurants
- Kids' creative area
- Artist demonstrations
Why it's special:
- This is a JURIED show. Artists apply and are selected. The quality is gallery-level.
- It's one of the top 5 outdoor art festivals in the US. Source: Sunshine Artist magazine rankings.
- Fort Worth's Sundance Square is already beautiful — adding 200 artists transforms it.
Tips:
- Walk the entire festival before buying. You'll see something amazing in the last booth that you'd miss if you bought early.
- Bring cash for smaller purchases (many artists prefer it).
- The food area has Fort Worth restaurant pop-ups — eat here instead of leaving the festival.
- Friday afternoon is the least crowded time.
Sources:
- MainStreetArtsFest.org
- Sunshine Artist top festivals list
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram festival coverage
Anyone else look forward to this every year?
Friday afternoon is the move. Saturday is packed. Sunday afternoon is also good — some artists reduce prices on the last day rather than ship unsold work home.