RICHARDSON, TX – May 11, 2012 – Only one week remains until the start of Richardson’s 20th annual Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival, North Texas’ largest music festival. Three-day passes will remain on sale through Friday, May 18 until 5:30 p.m. for $30 at any Metroplex Tom Thumb store or online through www.wildflowerfestival.com. Three-day passes represent the best deal for festival-going patrons (a $10 savings each day!). The festival takes place May 18 - 20 at Richardson’s Galatyn Park Urban Center.
Single-day tickets will remain available through the Festival's website, or they can be purchased at the gate. Single-day adult tickets are $20, tickets for kids age 5-12 are $3, and kids 4 and under will be admitted free. Also this year, the “Kidz in Free" promotion will return on Sunday, May 20, when all kids under the age of 12 will get in free with a paid adult, courtesy of Bank of America.
Headliners for 2012 include: Joe Walsh, Nelly, The Commodores, Dashboard Confessional, Mark Chesnutt, Chic with Nile Rodgers, Lou Gramm - the Voice of Foreigner, Neal McCoy, Augustana, Guy Clark, AbbaMania – The Abba Tribute, Le Freak – the World's Greatest Disco Band, Beth Nielsen Chapman, A Hard Night’s Day, Shealeigh- Season Four Winner from Disney’s N.B.T., and John Gorka. Also enjoy a special performance and Q&A sessions with Caroline Sunshine from the Disney Channel's hit series "Shake It Up.”
Named “Best of the Fests” by D Magazine, Wildflower! also features: three outdoor performance stages; the Market Place featuring arts and crafts; the Guitar Art Auction; the Kidz Korner featuring children’s games and activities; street performers, buskers, acrobats and entertainers; City of Richardson Petting Zoo; the Taste of Texas Food Garden, offering a mix of regional cuisine and festival favorites; an award-winning singer-songwriter contest and workshop; Battle of the Bands Competition; Game Haven Game Zone, a fun, interactive gaming area with 10-12 video screens featuring the latest games; and the 9th annual “Wild Ride”— a 16-, 40- and 64-mile bike race on Saturday, May 19th to benefit Methodist Richardson Medical Center.
New this year: The Flippenout Trampoline Show, the next generation of extreme entertainment, is coming to Wildflower!, enabling festival-goers to watch extreme trampolining set to music. The show’s performances feature twisting triple flips, complex acrobatic routines, heights of 25 feet or more, snowboards, skis, ball, and Cirque du Soleil-like action off of the only transparent wall in the world used in trampoline shows.
Wildflower! takes place in the Galatyn Park Urban Center at 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, just off US 75 at the Galatyn Parkway exit. For complete, up-to-date event information including a festival map, performance schedules, festival dos and don’ts, lodging options, driving directions, parking information and festival hours, visit www.wildflowerfestival.com or call 972-744-4580, or follow Wildflower! on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wildflowerfestival. Wildflower! fans can also receive instant festival info on their mobile phones by texting “WFF” to 88500.
2012 Primary Sponsors include ViewPoint Bank, Methodist Richardson Medical Center, metroPCS, Bud Light and the City of Richardson. Additional sponsors include Bank of America, The Dallas Morning News, Coca-Cola, Black Oak Wine, the Dallas Observer, Choctaw Casino and Resort, Richland College, Star Community Newspapers, the Collin County Business Press, Southern Journeys, The Velvet Snout, The Tavern on Main Street, BB&T, Post Eastside Apartment Homes, Sherwin Williams, Pan American Benefits Solutions, AMLI Residential, PODS, 100.3 Jack FM, Sunbelt Pools, The Door, Dal-Rich Village, The Recording Conservatory of Austin, Statewide Remodeling, American Ice, Green Mountain Energy, Coleman American, Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Richardson, Sunnyland Furniture, Casa Milagro, Kona Guitars, Trybe Targeting, Neighborhood Credit Union and la Madeleine. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Robbie Hazelbaker at 972-744-4316 or robbie.hazelbaker@cor.gov.
For complete, up-to-date event information including a festival map, performance schedules, festival dos and don’ts, lodging options, driving directions, parking information and festival hours, visit www.wildflowerfestival.com or call 972-744-4580, or follow Wildflower! on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wildflowerfestival.
Media Notes: Please contact Greg Sowell at 972-744-4218 for media credentials to access the festival grounds. For more information on the festival and venues, please contact Geoff Fairchild, special events manager for the City of Richardson, at 972-744-4583 or geoff.fairchild@cor.gov.
About Wildflower!
The Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival began as a small community event in 1993 held in a local park in northeast Richardson, Texas. Nineteen years later the festival has become the premier music event in the area. Originally a community event designed to celebrate the acres of wild flowers planted throughout the city each spring, Wildflower! quickly “blossomed” when national headlining entertainment was added after only the second year. Growing crowds and subsequent logistical challenges lead the event to its first move to the Greenway Corporate Office Park at US 75 and Campbell Rd. Here the event was able to expand with multiple stages, over 30 acres of arts, music, and family activities.
In 1998, the Wildflower Nights! Program was added, bringing an additional weekend of concert-style entertainment to the event. Wildflower Nights! featured evening concerts in an amphitheater setting and the program quickly gained popularity as bigger and better artists were added to the lineup each year. In 2011, over 70,000 attendees, ranging primarily from ages 25 to 54, and from 17 different states, attended the event.
About the City of Richardson
With nearly 100,000 residents, the City of Richardson is widely recognized for its commitment to excellence, its rich history and its bright future, all of which make Richardson a smart choice for residents and businesses. Known globally for its high-tech business leadership, the City of Richardson also offers a high quality of life, diverse array of neighborhoods, convenient Metroplex location, multi-modal transportation infrastructure and outstanding City services. Richardson has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top places to live and work by the national media, and the City remains dedicated to continuous improvement, as well as to the principles of open government and two-way communications with residents. To learn more, visit www.cor.net
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