Smorgasbord of festivals By MARK MACESICH
Special Contributor / The Dallas Morning News
Festivals of light. Festivals
of food. Festivals of music, art, history and ethnic culture.
The Dallas-Fort Worth region
is home to a veritable festival of festivals.
We found more than 125 established ones (not to mention
a healthy assortment of church, community and holiday-related
fairs) in easy-to-find published and Internet sources. (See
accompanying box.)"We hold festivals because we like
to celebrate the diverse groups that helped start Dallas,
bring people together and create a sense of community,"
says Andrea Brown of Old City Park, a frequent site for
events.
Andy Scott/DMN
Mike Wallace
competes in the Texas Scottish Festival and Highland
Games last year at the University of Texas at Arlington's
Maverick Stadium.
Civic pride and heritage
aside, festivals also attract crowds because, well, they're
fun.
"Originally [holding
a festival] was our way of getting exposure," says
Allan Hughes of Traders Village flea market in Grand Prairie,
host for a variety of celebrations, including the Prairie
Dog Chili Cook-Off and World Championship of Pickled Quail
Egg Eating. "Then we found out there were people who
enjoy festivals, just to do something different. People
who didn't know anything about flea markets would come specifically
for the event."
There are the well-known
events, which draw tens of thousands of North Texans annually,
including Dallas' Trinity Fest and Addison's Kaboom Town
(Fourth of July weekend festivals), the Plano Balloon Festival
(September), Scarborough Faire the Renaissance Festival
in Waxahachie (April-June), Fort Worth's Mayfest, Richardson's
Cottonwood Art Festival (May and October) and the Texas
Scottish Festival and Highland Games in Arlington (June).
Sir Howard Harrison
sells food at the Scarborough Faire last year.
Allison V. Smith/DMN
And quirky ones: Besides
the Prairie Dog Chili Cook-Off, there are events such as
Ennis' National Polka Festival (May), Denton's CJ+K Hickory
Street Mud Bug Boil & Gumbo Cook-Off (April) and Dallas'
Corndog Festival (September).
And some holidays –
such as the Fourth of July, Halloween, Christmas, Chinese
New Year, Black History Month (February) and Cinco de Mayo
– generate a flurry of festival-like activities.
So, if you can't find a festival
somewhere in the region, sometime during the year, to suit
your tastes regardless of how average or odd those
tastes then, face it, you're just not a festivalgoer.
Following is a sampling of
festival fare, leaning to those representing the region's
ethnic diversity, culture and heritage.
AUGUST
North Texas State
Fair: OK, this is a fair, not a festival. But it
has been around for three-quarters of a century, which,
in the shadow of the State Fair of Texas, should count for
something. Includes championship rodeo, carnival rides and
games, live entertainment, barbecue cook-offs, fiddling
contest and petting zoos. North Texas Fairgrounds, 2217
N. Carroll Blvd., Denton. 940-387-2632. www.northtexasstatefair.com
SEPTEMBER
The Corndog Festival:
Timed to the opening of the State Fair of Texas, this annual
benefit features corn dogs in costumes and oddball dioramas.
Includes live music and all-you-can-eat corn dogs and tater
tots. Ozona Grill & Bar, 4615 Greenville Ave., Dallas.
214-749-3901. www.corndogfestival.com
Greek Food Festival:
One of Dallas' oldest food fests (nearly five decades),
featuring all-you-can-eat buffets with Greek favorites such
as gyros, dolmas and spanakopita; a marketplace; cooking
demos; and entertainment. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church,
13555 Hillcrest Road at Alpha. 972-991-1166. www.greekfestivalofdallas.com
National Championship
Indian Pow Wow: Salute to American Indian heritage
attracts dance participants from dozens of tribes, artisans
and crafts people. Event includes tepee contest, Indian
food booths and exhibits. Traders Village, 2602 Mayfield
Road, Grand Prairie. 972-647-2331. www.tradersvillage.com
Addison Oktoberfest:
Munich-style harvest festival features four days of German
foods – including sausage, sauerkraut, strudel and
giant pretzels – plus authentic beer, wine tastings,
live music and dancing, carnival and children's activities.
Addison Circle Drive. 1-800-233-4766. www.addisontexas.net
OCTOBER
Country Day on the
Hill: Cedar Hill event harks back to an era when
farm families came to town after the harvest to trade goods
in the town square. Sixty-six years old and counting, the
festival includes settlers reunion, traditional food, arts
and crafts, horseshoe tournament, street dance, music, chili
cook-off and pie auction. 972-293-4740
Red Steagall Cowboy
Gathering & Western Swing Festival: Three-day
commemoration of Texas' cowboy culture opens with arrival
of wagon train and includes ranch rodeo, ranch cutting horse
and chuck wagon competitions, cowboy poetry recitations,
music, trading post and food. Fort Worth Stockyards, Main
Street at Exchange Avenue. 817-444-5502 or 1-888-269-8696.
www.theredsteagallcowboygathering.com
Lebanese Food Festival:
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church festival features
three days of homemade Middle Eastern food such as tabbouleh,
hummus and baklava, plus performances including Lebanese
folk dancers and belly dancers, and children's activities.
719 University Place, Lewisville. 972-436-7617. www.ourladylebanon.com
DECEMBER
Candlelight at Old
City Park: Holiday celebration includes a parade,
horse-drawn carriages, carolers, arts and crafts, children's
crafts and storytelling. 1717 Gano St., Dallas. 214-421-5141.
www.oldcitypark.org
KwanzaaFest:
Features live entertainment, including musical performances
and African dancers, children and family activities, vendors
and food. Fair Park, Dallas. 214-653-6671. www.johnwileyprice.com/pages/kwanzaa.html
FEBRUARY
Black History Month:
Although it's not a festival in the usual sense, you would
be hard-pressed to find a better description for this monthlong
collection of activities, events and exhibits honoring ethnic
history and culture.
MARCH
North Texas Irish
Festival: Largest Celtic festival in the Southwest
features bagpipes aplenty, with traditional, contemporary
and pop music; traditional dancing; cultural booths; wandering
musicians; Scottish clan village; and Urchin Street Faire.
Fair Park, Dallas. 214-821-4173.
www.ntif.org
APRIL
CJ+K Hickory Street
Mud Bug Boil & Gumbo Cook-Off: Daylong crawfish
boil, street party and all-you-can-eat charity fund-raiser,
which also includes fried fish and deep-fried turkey, gumbo
competition and sampling, and live entertainment. 1211 W.
Hickory St., Denton. 940-565-0770. www.mudbugboil.org
Brianna Williams,
5, of Irving, playfully reacts to eating boiled crawfish
during the May 2002 Cajun Festival at Traders Village
in Grand Prairie.
Helen Jau/DMN
Prairie Dog Chili
Cook-Off and World Championship of Pickled Quail Egg Eating:
"Granddaddy" of North Texas chili cook-offs after
nearly three decades, this two-day event includes more than
100 chili teams, pinto bean cooking contest, quail egg eating
and tortilla tossing contests, "Lemon Roll" and
anvil toss. Alas, no prairie dogs. Traders Village, 2602
Mayfield Road, Grand Prairie. 972-647-2331. www.tradersvillage.com
MAY
Richard Michael Pruitt/DMN
Three dancers dressed in native Indonesian costumes prepare to perform at the Asian Festival at Annette Strauss Artist Square.
Asian Festival: Largest Asian heritage
celebration in North Texas, this event features local
dance and music groups performing traditional routines,
martial arts, sumo demonstrations, kids activities
and, of course, Asian food. Annette Strauss Artist
Square, Flora at Leonard, Dallas. 972-241-8250.
www.gdaacc.com
Latin Food Fest: Cinco de Mayo celebration
features music, dance, art, cooking shows, food and children's
activities. Dallas Farmers Market, 1010 S. Pearl St. 214-824-7495
Cinco de Mayo Festival:
Parade, live bands and dancers, soccer tournament, children's
crafts and food. Civic Center Park, 321 E. McKinney, Denton.
940-349-8509. www.dentoncinco.org
Texas Stadium Festival:
A quarter-century tradition, event celebrates Hispanic culture
and Cinco de Mayo with live entertainment, exhibits, games,
carnival rides and food. State Highway 114 at Loop 12, Irving.
972-785-0400
National Polka Festival:
Three-day event, around for nearly 40 years, celebrates
Czech and Slovak heritage with parade, polka bands and dancing,
traditional costumes, arts and crafts booths and ethnic
food. Memorial Day weekend. In Ennis. 972-878-4748 or 1-888-366-4748.
www.nationalpolkafestival.com
JUNE
Denton Juneteenth
Celebration: Three-decade-old tradition marking
the emancipation of Texas slaves, the festival includes
live entertainment, food vendors, basketball "shoot-out,"
barbecue cook-off and children's games. Fred Moore Park,
Bradshaw and East Prairie. 940-349-7275 or 940-349-8275.
www.dentonparks.com
Fort Worth Juneteenth
Freedom Celebration: Another long-standing event,
with several days of activities, including a parade, music
festival, pageant, dance competition, art and history exhibits,
religious observances and 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
In and around the Tarrant County Convention Center. 817-335-1866
JULY
Old-Fashioned Fourth:
Old City Park in Dallas takes visitors back to
a turn-of-the-century Independence Day with a parade, the
swearing-in of new U.S. citizens, live entertainment, a
pie-eating contest and stick horse rodeo. 1717 Gano St.
214-421-5141. www.oldcitypark.org/fourth.htm
Gran Fiesta de Fort
Worth: Three evenings of Latino culture, including
folkloric dance; mariachi, merengue and salsa bands; outdoor
arts and crafts mercado; children's activities; and food
reflecting Hispanic and Latin cultural influences on Texas
and the Southwest. 214-855-1881 or 817-488-2336. www.meifestivals.com
Mark Macesich is a Richardson
freelance writer.
MORE LISTINGS
Some useful sources for more
festival and event information:
