Totally Texas -- Fling into spring!

From the many spring festivals in North Texas, I’ve picked a sampling to help plan your season. As always, I favor outdoor events, preferably free. This post lists annual or semi-annual festivals. A selection of recurring events follows next week.

March:

Currently through April 7 -- Dallas Blooms, at Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road. Sixty-six acres of gardens decked out for spring, on the shores of White Rock Lake. Open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. For ticket information and discounts, see www.dallasarboretum.org/.

Currently through April 7 -- Tyler Azalea and Spring Flowers Trails. Miles of self-guided driving trails begin at the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau, 315 N. Broadway. Related events include walking tours and arts and crafts exhibits, many free. For map and schedules, see www.tylerazaleatrail.com/.

April:

April 6 -- The Celebrate Nature Festival, Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, 1 Nature Place, McKinney, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Includes interactive animal presentations, music, nature-inspired arts and crafts, and more. The Heard’s spring sale of native plants also returns April 5-7. Free for members. For schedule and nonmember ticket prices, see www.heardmuseum.org/.

April 6 - May 27 -- Scarborough Renaissance Festival, Waxahachie at 2511 FM 66. Thirty-five acre “village” with events drawn from the reign of England’s King Henry VIII. Saturdays, Sundays and Memorial Day, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Adult admission $24, but numerous discounts available. See www.srfestival.com/.

April 20-21 -- Spring Festival in the Japanese Garden, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard, Fort Worth. Traditional Japanese dance, music, martial arts, and more. Open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. April 20, noon - 5 p.m. April 21. Tickets $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 4-12. See
http://fwbg.org/.

April 20-21 -- Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival, Ennis, various locations. Arts and crafts, food, entertainment, and of course, bluebonnets. The bloom season usually starts the first week of April. Free. For information and to check on bloom, see www.visitennis.org.

April 20-21 -- April in Edom, downtown Edom (at the crossing of FM 279, 314 and 2339, southeast of Canton. Old-fashioned street fair with children’s activities, music, car show and pet parade. Free. Hours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., with April 20 street dance until 8 p.m. See www.aprilinedom.net/.

May:

May 4-5 -- Cottonwood Art Festival, Richardson, at Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Road, one block east of Coit Road. A juried art fair with food, music, and children’s activities. Free. Open 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. May 4 (music until 8 p.m.) and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. May 5. See www.cottonwoodartfestival.com/.

May 17-19 -- Wildflower! arts and music festival. Richardson’s Galatyn Park Urban Center, at U.S. 75 and Galatyn Parkway. Art, music, food, and kids’ activities. Ticket sales start April 15. Adult one-day pass $20, children 5-12 $3. Discounts for multi-day passes and for Richardson residents. See
www.wildflowerfestival.com/.

Totally Texas -- Go east, for Tyler Azalea Trail

As sure as bluebonnets are blue, every spring azaleas deck parks and gardens in the eastern third of Texas with shades of pink. (And red, white, purple, even the occasional yellow and orange.) These evergreen shrubs love the mild weather and acidic soil of East Texas, and each year the city of Tyler hosts a festival to show off its public and private azalea displays.

The 2013 Azalea and Spring Flower Trail opens today, March 15, and extends through April 7. Outdoor flowers being capricious creatures, I drove to Tyler last Tuesday to check on the blooms. Along most of the mapped eight-mile trail, azaleas were just starting to open, and a few days of this warm weather should have brought them out.

I took the picture illustrating this post at the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden -- not on the official trail but worth a side trip both for early-blooming azaleas and a gorgeous display of camellias. (Rose bloom is expected to start about April 1, although some antique roses are already flowering.) For Rose Garden information, see www.tylerrosemuseum.com/.

Besides azaleas, Tyler bursts with activities during the annual festival -- home and garden tours, historical tours, and arts and crafts fairs. Blooms on East Texas’ many dogwood trees are also expanding, and nearby Tyler State Park offers a Dogwood Days driving and walking tour to enjoy them.

Of course you’ll take pictures, and there’s a photography contest, with a chance to win cash for your favorites and see them featured on the festival’s Facebook and Flickr sites.

Tyler is located about ninety minutes east of Dallas, a few miles off I-20. The trail begins at the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau, 315 N. Broadway, open daily during the festival except on Easter, March 31.

There are actually two routes, the Dobbs Trail and Lindsey Trail, partially overlapping and well marked. For a brochure of activities and trail map, or to download a free azalea blossom screensaver, see www.tylerazaleatrail.com/.

For information about other attractions in and around Tyler during your visit, see
www.tylertexas.com/.

(Next Friday -- a selection of spring festivals around North Central Texas.)