190 Artists, Two Stages, and Free Admission: Cottonwood Art Festival Returns Oct. 3–4

One of the Country’s Top Juried Art Festivals Lands in Richardson This Weekend

The Fall Cottonwood Art Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, 2026, at Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Rd. Admission is free both days, making it one of the most accessible large-scale arts events on the fall calendar anywhere in the Dallas area — let alone Richardson specifically.

The festival is a juried show, meaning every artist who sets up a booth has cleared a competitive selection process. This year that translates to more than 190 artist booths spread across the park. The range of media is broad — painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, photography, and mixed-media work all typically appear — so there is something worth stopping at regardless of what you collect or simply enjoy looking at.

Featured Artist: Houston’s Tony Paraná

The 2026 Featured Artist designation goes to Tony Paraná, a Houston-based artist selected to anchor the festival’s identity this year. Featured Artist recognition at Cottonwood carries weight precisely because the event’s national reputation draws serious applicants; landing the designation reflects a curatorial judgment, not a ceremonial one. Paraná’s presence gives attendees a focal point beyond browsing the full floor of booths.

Two Live Music Stages

Cottonwood Art Festival runs live music on two separate stages throughout the weekend. The dual-stage format matters practically: it means music is almost always audible somewhere in the park without creating a single bottleneck crowd. If you are trying to move through booths efficiently in the morning before the park fills, arriving early Saturday gives you the best combination of open walkways and ambient sound without the weekend afternoon crush.

Specific set times and performer lineups were not published at press time, but the festival’s own site at cottonwoodartfestival.com is the right place to check for the most current schedule before you go.

Craft Beer Garden and Food Trucks

A craft beer garden is part of the footprint this year. For attendees who want to spend a few hours rather than a quick pass-through, the combination of the beer garden and the food truck lineup makes that practical — you do not need to leave the park to eat or take a break. The food trucks rotate and vary, so specifics will be clearer on-site, but plan for a full-service afternoon if the weather cooperates.

October in Richardson can still carry residual summer heat through midday, so early morning arrival — the festival opens to the public both days — is worth considering if you want to cover the full 190-plus booths without wearing yourself out before the afternoon music.

ArtStop Children’s Activity Area

Families with kids have a dedicated zone: the ArtStop children’s activity area. It is set up specifically for younger attendees rather than being an afterthought at the edge of the grounds. If you are bringing children, this is the spot to orient around first so they have an anchor activity while adults spend time with the artist booths.

Cottonwood Park itself, at Belt Line and Cottonwood Drive, has parking on site, though the festival draws significant attendance and lots fill up. Arriving before 10 a.m. Saturday is a reliable way to secure close parking. Street parking along the surrounding neighborhood grid is available as overflow, and the walk into the park is flat.

Logistics at a Glance

• Dates: Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026
• Location: Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Rd., Richardson, TX 75080
• Admission: Free
• Artist booths: 190+
• Featured Artist: Tony Paraná (Houston)
• Music: Live on two stages
• Other amenities: Craft beer garden, food trucks, ArtStop children’s activity area

Context in October’s Broader Calendar

This weekend is a busy one for Richardson. The Richardson Symphony Orchestra plays its Opening Night program of Prokofiev and Brahms at the Charles W. Eisemann Center on Saturday evening, October 3, for residents who want to move from the outdoor festival to an indoor concert on the same day. The two events do not compete logistically — Cottonwood runs through the afternoon, and the RSO curtain is at 7:30 p.m. — so pairing them is feasible.

For a city that prides itself on a dense fall events calendar, Cottonwood Art Festival remains the flagship draw of the season. The national juried reputation, the free admission, and the critical mass of 190 artists in a single park make it the kind of event that pulls attendees from well outside Richardson’s boundaries — and one that residents have a particular advantage attending simply by living a few minutes away.