Cottonwood Art Festival The city budgeted the Cottonwood Festival on May 7-8 with tighter nancial restraints this scal year. The semiannual event is held on the rst weekend of May and October. Budget Revenue
Charles W. Eisemann Center Rental and attendance
Budget versus revenue The Eisemann Center’s revenue projections have risen to just under prepandemic expectations.
The Eisemann Center has seen a rise in events and attendance at all three of its venues this scal year.
FY 2017-18
Revenue
Budget
Number of events Total event attendance
$241K
$421K
FY 2018-19
$4.33M
FY 2017-18
FY 2018-19
$2.02M
492 182,549
$252K
$420K
FY 2019-20
FY 2018-19
$3.47M
$142K FY 2019-20 (May 2020 canceled)
459 164,155
$945K
$71K
FY 2020-21 †
FY 2019-20
$2.15M
197 77,704
FY 2020-21 (Oct. 2020 and May 2021 canceled)
$483K
FY 2020-21
FY 2021-22 (Projection)
$173K $305K FY 2021-22 (Oct. 2021 canceled, May 2022 projection)
106 19,529
Cottonwood Festival is the city’s semiannual art festival. COURTESY CITY OF RICHARDSON
$2.49M
$1.10M
FY 2021-22*
125 45,051
.
BELT LINE RD.
K
Number of usage days in FY 2018-19 624
Number of usage days in FY 2020-21 169
COTTONWOOD PARK
Cottonwood Festival was established in 1969
The festival was last held in fall 2019
COTTONWOOD DR.
75
*OCTOBER MARCH † ESTIMATE SOURCE: CITY OF RICHARDSON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
N
N
SOURCE: CITY OF RICHARDSON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
superintendent of community events. “However, we are hoping to bring in a lot of fun things for everybody to do, to the point theywon’t realize the stage is missing,” Ayers said. Lawrence said she loves that Cot- tonwood gives local performers an opportunity in addition to the art it showcases. “I know that’s been an initiative and a goal for us,” Lawrence said. Behind the scenes Festival organizers are working with tighter budgets this year. The city budget for Wild ower is about 27% less than it was in FY 2018-19, while Cottonwood’s budget is more than 30% less. In ation is also a factor in this year’s plans, Magner said. “Everything from the stages them- selves to the sound technicians are going to cost more this year,” he said.
Being able to hold these events in 2022 has been a major priority for Richardson, Magner said. “It’s an amenity that we’re able to o er opportunities for the community to come together and to celebrate,” Magner said, adding that local compa- nies and sponsors also bene t. “It’s a way to bring customers and potential clients to the city and expose them to what Richardson has to o er.” This year, Wild ower will feature 39 music acts, including Texas-based alternative rock band Toadies. Bassist Doni Blair said he and the rest of the Toadies group appreciated the opportunity to headline an event, such as Wild ower, after missing out on touring for much of the last two years. “It’s always so much fun playing there,” Blair said. “We love [playing at the Wild ower Festival] so much because every time we play there it’s
always a great crowd.” What is new this year
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annually, according to a 2019 report published by the Dallas Regional Chamber. Citybudget documents show Wild ower generated nearly $750,000 in revenue for the city annually in scal years 2017-18 and 2018-19. Other arts festivals, including Cot- tonwood, generated a total of more than $420,000 during those same years, o cials said. The return of these events is expected to provide the city an eco- nomic boost, Magner said. According to Richardson’s scal year 2021-22 bud- get, Wild ower will generate nearly $536,000 in revenue. The city’s other arts festivals are projected to gener- ate over $305,000. These two sources account for about a quarter of the city’s budgeted revenue in the category of recreation and leisure service.
Dianna Lawrence, the city’s commu- nity events manager, said organizers have used the past two years to ne- tune services. “We really took time to look through the way that [residents] are experienc- ing the festival and try to enhance each festival for our guests,” Lawrence said. She said this year’s Wild ower Fes- tival will feature classic events, such as the battle of the bands, songwriting competitions and an art guitar auction. “Every year, we try to spotlight new artists, newperformers and change our activities in our kids area to keep it new and fresh for everyone,” Lawrence said. A nearby construction project will shut o access to one of the main stages Wild ower has used previously, according to Serri Ayers, Richardson’s
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