The Deep Ellum Arts Festival will celebrate its 22nd anniversary this year from Friday, April 1 through Sunday, April 3. Voted “Best Festival in Dallas” by local polls and ranked by participating artists among the top 50 arts festivals in the nation, the Festival is expanding this year by shifting three blocks east to now begin at Malcolm X Blvd. and end at Exposition Hall outside the iconic Sons of Hermann Hall, which will also serve as the Festival’s new headquarters. The Festival opens for lunch on Friday at 11 a.m., offering downtown office workers a special opportunity to preview the Festival during their lunch break.

With dozens of concessionaires and local restaurants, guests can enjoy a wide variety of tasty local cuisines, beer, wine and cocktails while experiencing more than 200 juried fine artists. All artists will be displaying and selling their works, many of which will be created live. The collections showcased will include paintings, sculptures, murals, jewelry and other original works of art. Various Deep Ellum musicians and artists will be creating and inspiring live, local art to happen as they keep the spirit of Dallas alive in the Deep Ellum, TX Village area at the open lot located at the corner of Main and Malcolm X Blvd. Food fares from popular Deep Ellum restaurants will also be available for purchase in this area.

The adult-oriented three-day Festival, which will cover six city blocks of Main Street in Dallas’ Entertainment District, will also feature more than 100 performances including bands and solo musicians from all over the metroplex and beyond performing only original music representing a variety of genres from four outdoor stages and two new indoor stages inside the iconic Sons of Hermann Hall. Kicking off on April Fools’ Day, this year’s Festival will also feature street performers, jugglers and other whimsical characters throughout the weekend, along with Poetry Slam’s open mic, as well as The Deep Ellum Speakers Corner where each registered speaker will be given time to utilize their right to free speech on a topic of their choice, soap box-style!

And for the pet lovers, the annual Deep Ellum Pet Parade will begin Sunday, April 3rd at noon. For those looking to participate in the Pet Parade Awards Ceremony, registration begins at 11 a.m. at the dog park at Trunk and Commerce Street, with the parade starting at 12 p.m. and ending at the singer-songwriter stage at the corner of Hall and Main Street.

The Festival was founded by and is produced by Main Events International (MEI), The Celebration Engineers©.

WHEN:

April 1 – 3 , 2016
Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

WHERE:

Deep Ellum Entertainment District: 2900 – 3400 block of Main Street, between Malcolm X Blvd. and Exposition Ave. and between Elm & Commerce Street.
Dallas, Texas 75226

ADMISSION:

Free (thanks to the generosity of the Festival’s sponsors and exhibitors). The Deep Ellum Community Association and The Deep Ellum Foundation, along with other local businesses, benefit from this annual free-to-attend community Festival.