KWKT – FOX 44

Waco Cultural Arts Fest returning this weekend

(file photo)

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) – A popular event in Waco for the fall season is making its return this weekend!

The 18th annual Waco Cultural Arts Fest will open Friday at 6 p.m., and will continue on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. before wrapping up on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event will take place at Indian Spring Park and the Waco Convention Center on University Parks Drive in downtown Waco.

The event is a free celebration of arts and culture which brings artists, live music, dance, poetry, food and art
activities together for the whole family. Some of these activities include wood sculpture, painting, mask making and much more.

Some other things visitors can expect this year are:

Friday, September 30:
Fenix Theory, the most diverse Special Events Band in Central Texas.
American Merit, Roots Rock’n’Roll.
Scott Strickland Band, Rock/Jazz/Soul –Austin’s Scott Strickland brings his big voice and song writing talent to Waco after the release of his debut album.

The WordFest Open Mic will be from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. in the Texas Room at the Waco Convention Center. Over the years’ thousands of poems have been submitted hoping for a chance to be published in the WordFest Anthology.

The 2022 Anthology includes 50 of the best poets in Texas, in addition to around the United States. International poets are selected from Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Saturday, October 1:
ArtsFest: Arts for all art activities for kids to make their own paintings and sculptures.
ScienceFest: The Bike Zoo is back with engineered butterflies outside of the Convention Center.
WordFest: Workshops with author D. Ellis Phelps.

The Main Stage opens at 10 a.m. for the Dance-a-Thon, featuring local dance studios. This year, there will be seven dance-related performances on the Main Stage. Audiences will see high energy jazz, beautifully choreographed contemporary, a musical theatre number, praise dance, grounded and exploratory modern, and classical ballet.

MusicFest: Continues with a lineup of genres including Mariachi Azteca, Smooth Nature, King Azule Diablo, Cory Ironside, Big R, Sunnn, Nigel Cole, Suede and Kam KT.

Sunday, October 2:
Shop for original art from vendors.
ArtFest and ScienceFest continue.
MusicFest on the Main Stage honors the late Classie Ballou from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Performances include Cam’Ron Ballou and Darker Shade of Zydeco, The Ballou’s Cats, Sanger Heights Blues Allstars, Home at Last and Cacean Ballou and the Dirty Crawfish.