Richardson Wildflower Festival

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Richardson WildFlower Festival (or Wild Flower Arts and Music Festival) is held annually in Richardson, Texas in May. It began in 1993 to celebrate the wild flowers sown by the city^[1] and is typically attended by approximately 50,000 people.^[2]^[3]

The festival began at Breckinridge Park, and moved to Greenway Corporate Office Park, and then the Galatyn Park Urban Center in 2002. The festival expanded to three days and eventually grew to cover over 30 acres featuring multiple stages, arts, music, exhibits, and family activities.

The name Wildflower!, when referring to the festival, is always spelled with an exclamation point after it to signify that it’s much more than a small beacon of color- At any one time and at any one place inside the festival you can be exposed to multiple elements of culture, music, food, and the arts.

Festival programming includes two main outdoor performance stages featuring local, regional and headliner bands, the Kidz Korner, the Acoustic Café, strolling entertainers/buskers, interactive displays and exhibits, the Wild Marketplace, the award-winning Singer/Songwriter Contest and Stage, the Battle of the Bands competition, the Art Guitar Auction, the Budding Talent Competition, the Taste of Texas Food Court, and the Wild Ride- a bike ride to benefit cancer research.

Lineups

1995- The Dixie Chicks, Lee Greenwood

1996- Firefall, America, Michael McDonald, Chuck Negron, Toto, Tracy Byrd, The Temptations, Mickey Thomas of Starship

1997- 5th Dimension, Loverboy, .38 Special, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, David Kersh, Eddie Money, Marty Stuart, Survivor, Randy Bachman

1998- Dan Fogelberg, The Commodores, Christopher Cross

1999- The Beach Boys, David Clayton Thomas, Huey Lewis & The News, Kenny Loggins, Sister Hazel, Robert Cray, Spin Doctors

2000- The Bacon Brothers, A.J. Croce, Isaac Hayes, Don McClean, ELO, Bruce Hornsby, WAR, Steven Bishop, Neal McCoy

2001- America, Collective Soul, The Go Go’s, The Doobie Brothers, En Vogue, Hank Williams Jr., Grand Funk Railroad, Flock of Seagulls, The Kentucky Headhunters, Cowboy Mouth, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, Shawn Mullins, Sam Moore, Percy Sledge, The Romantics, Splender, Sugarbomb, Loverboy, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

2002- (one-day festival) Wilson Pickett, Colin Haye, Southern Culture on the Skids, Trout Fishing in America

2003- Peter Frampton, Morris Day and the Time, Smash Mouth, Taylor Dayne, Roberta Flack, Joe Bonamassa, Nine Days, Jonny Lang, Gin Blossoms, Fattburger, Cathy Richardson Band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Chuck Negron, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Old 97s, The Kingston Trio, The Marshall Tucker Band, Shemekia Copeland, Steve Azar

2004- Paul Rodgers, Blues Traveler, Tanya Tucker, The Polyphonic Spree, Brian McCommas, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Blue Oyster Cult, The Classical Mystery Tour, Ken Navarro, Chris Duarte, Stephanie Urbina Jones, Ruthie Foster

2005- Cheap Trick, The Neville Brothers, Julie Roberts, Miranda Lambert, Rick Springfield, Darryl Worley, Leon Russell, Ryan Cabrera, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Cowboy Mouth, Bugs Henderson, Joe Ely, Mickey Thomas of Starship, Pure Prairie League

2006- K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Bowling For Soup, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Spinners, Loverboy, Gregg Rolie, Jonny Lang, Cowboy Mouth, The Click Five, Lisa Loeb, Shawn Colvin, The Vanished, The Knack, Jimmie Vaughan, Ruthie Foster

2007- Grand Funk Railroad, Better Than Ezra, Morris Day and the Time, Fastball, Jo Dee Messina, Foghat, Shooter Jennings, The Original Family Stone, Chuck Negron, Soul Asylum, The Romantics, Eddie Money, John Waite, Tracy Byrd, Austin Lounge Lizards, Paramount’s Laserspectacular featuring the music of Pink Floyd, Le Freak^[4]

2008- Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Bret Michaels Rock of Love Tour, America, Everclear, The Guess Who, Loverboy, Jerry Jeff Walker, Blue Oyster Cult, Kathy Mattea, Eve 6, Roger Creager, Firehouse, Seven Mary Three, Quietdrive, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Butch Hancock, The Django Walker Band, Candy Coburn, No Justice, Slaid Cleaves, Jon Vezner, Steve Fromholz, Chris Smither, Paramount's LaserSpectacular featuring the Music of Pink Floyd, Le Freak