Totally Texas -- Richardson rocks to Cottonwood art

Cottonwood Art Festival

Cottonwood Park, 1321 Beltline Road, Richardson

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It’s fall and temperatures are safely below the one hundred degree mark. That means it’s festival season in Texas. Richardson’s semi-annual Cottonwood Art Festival runs this weekend, October 1-2, at Cottonwood Park, located on 1321 W. Beltline Road, between Coit and Waterview.

A tent city transform the park twice a year as the festival selects more than 240 artists each spring and fall to exhibit -- and sell -- museum-quality work.

Although my grandsons loved last spring’s big metal animals and kinetic sculptures (that means, they move), for children, there’s also ArtStop. It’s an interactive children’s area where kids can paint a mural monstrous both in size and subject matter, throw clay on potters’ wheels, paint on tiles or draw on chalkboard easels, and lots more.

And Cottonwood is not just about art. Local bands performing rock, country, jazz, blues, swing and folk music will play from morning until 6 p.m. both days on the stage in the courtyard area near the park’s lake. Food and spirits are available in the courtyard. Outside, there’s always plenty of basic fair food and soft drinks.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. each day. It’s my favorite price -- free. Parking is also free, but mostly find your own along adjacent streets and shopping center lots. Bring comfortable shoes. And a well-behaved dog, if you have one. It’s a great time of year to walk around outdoors. For additional information and maps, see www.cottonwoodartfestival.com/

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Also in Richardson this Tuesday, September 27, author Jamie Ford discusses his bestselling novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Ford will speak in the Richardson Reads One Book event in Richardson High School Auditorium, 1250 W. Beltline Rd., at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Complimentary tickets are available at the Richardson Public Library, 900 Civic Dr. For information, call 972-744-4350.

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Oh, and that other little event called the State Fair of Texas also opens this week. The gates of Fair Park open at 10 a.m. Friday, September 30, followed by a noon parade through downtown Dallas. The State Fair runs through October 23. See www.bigtex.com for details.