The 2024 Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festivalwill take over 18 blocks of downtown, rain or shine, April 18-21. As tens of thousands of adults, children, dogs, and strollers will swarm the streets and sidewalks to take in the art, food, and entertainment at Texas' largest arts festival, a little planning helps a lot.

Here are some top tips for transportation and parking, hours, new features, and more, provided by Main St. Arts Fest organizers.

Getting there: Need a ride? Public transportation is the way to go.

• Trinity Railway Express commuter rail lines picks up and drops off two blocks from the festival at Fort Worth Central Station (Jones and 9th Streets). Train service will run throughout the festival, including special event TRE service on Sunday. Check TRE schedules here.
• From April 18-21, passengers can ride Trinity Metro bus, ZIPZONE, TEXRail, or TRE West Zone to the festival and get 50 percent off a local one-day pass in the GoPass app with one of these promo codes: MSAF24A (Adult) or MSAF24R (Reduced). Find the best ride at ridetrinitymetro.org/msfwaf.
• Molly the Trolley is the free event circulator to take riders around the perimeter of Main Street, operating 10 am-10 pm all four days of the festival.
• Trinity Metro Bus routes 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 46, 89, and The Dash will operate normal service schedules to and from Fort Worth Central Station. Visit https://ridetrinitymetro.org/msfwaf/.
• Fort Worth Bike Sharing has 14 bike-sharing stations within walking distance of the festival.
• Rideshare: Houston, Commerce, and Throckmorton Streets provide the best opportunities for rideshare drop-off and pick-up.

• April 15-22 (6 am): Main, 1st, 8th, 9th, and portions of Houston and Commerce Streets.
• April 16-April 22: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Streets
• April 19 (6 pm)-April 22: 6th and 7th Streets
• For a list of all street closures, visit www.mainstreetartsfest.org/festival-guide/street-closures/.

Free parking: There are several free parking options after 6 pm on Thursday and Friday, and all day on Saturday and Sunday, including:

• City Center Garage #2 - 400 Jones Street
• The Tower Garage - 400 Taylor Street
• 777 Main Parking Garage - 601 Commerce Street
• Sundance Square Garage #3 - 345 W. 3rd Street
• Resident lot at City Hall – 200 Texas Street
• Parking meters throughout downtown
• For a list of all free and paid parking options in Downtown Fort Worth, visit https://www.fortworthparking.com/downtown.

Hours and admission: Main St., produced by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. and presented by PNC, is FREE and open to the public all weekend. Hours are:

• Thursday, April 18: 10 am-10 pm
• Friday, April 19: 10 am-11 pm
• Saturday, April 20: 10 am-11 pm
• Sunday, April 21: 10 am-8 pm

What's cool and new for #MainSt2024: The four-day event will feature 213 juried artist, over 50 musical acts on two stages, and dozens of restaurants, food vendors, and beverages across four food courts. For a broader overview, check out this story.

Here are some can't-miss new features:

• Baileys Chocolate Liqueur Sampling Station: Baileys will be on-site to provide FREE samples of its new spirit, Baileys Chocolate Liqueur, a combination of Baileys Original Irish Cream and real Belgian chocolate. Find them at 2nd and Main Streets.
• Wine Pavilion: Hosted by City Center Fort Worth and presented by Chloe Wine Collection, the Wine Pavilion will offer selections of Chloe and Imagery wines, available to purchase by the glass, bottle, or sample throughout event hours. Located at 2nd and Main Streets.
• "Built to Last" Seating Stations: New outdoor seating areas are available throughout the festival courtesy of Built to Last.
• Headlining Entertainment: There'll be around-the-clock live music on two different stages, with headliners including Austin-based southern soul band Shinyribs; Grammy Award-nominated smooth jazz supergroup Jazz Funk Soul; acclaimed Chicano/Tejano band Latin Breed; soul/jazz singer-songwriter Taylor Pace; Tejano Music Award winner for “Best New Female Artist” Monica Saldivar; Grammy and Emmy Award-winning zydeco musician Buckwheat Zydeco, Jr., and more.
• Sharpie Bus: In celebration of World Creativity Day (April 21), Sharpie is heading across America with its new Sharpie Bus, a creativity hub on wheels that will launch its cross-country expedition in Fort Worth at Main St. The bus will offer a variety of activities for visitors to get creative with the new Sharpie Creative Markers. Located at 2nd and Main Streets.
• TCC Makers Zone: TheTCC Makers Zone" will provide children of all ages the chance to explore their creative side through innovation, invention, technology, creativity, and curiosity. Live demonstrations on space, pottery, robotics, clay, photography, computer programming, and circle weaving will be presented, along with other activities such as henna tattoos, bracelet-making, mosaic muraling, 3-D virtual reality (VR), sand art, bead art, caricatures, face painting, and more. Located between Weatherford and 2nd Streets on Main Street.
• Fort Worth ISD “Fort Worth Beauty” Art Contest: Students from the Fort Worth Independent School District will showcase their artwork in the “Fort Worth Beauty” art contest, with over $2,250 in prize money being awarded to the top three-ranked artists. Saturday and Sunday-only at 1st and Main Streets.
• 2024 Commemorative Poster: Designed by Pennsylvania-based exhibiting artist Kina Crow, the Main St. 2024 Commemorative Poster can be purchased at the online festival store for $25, or at the on-site merchandise booth located at 5th and Main Streets.

More art in Sundance Square:

A separate art fair called theFort Worth Art Fair, organized by Sundance Square, will showcase Fort Worth and North Texas artists around Sundance Square Plaza. The local galleries and exhibits includeLOCAL ARTISTS ONLY (curated by Red Milk Crone), PENCIL ON PAPER Gallery, 400h Houston St. Gallery & Studio, Familia Printshop, Caravan of Dreams Gallery, The Worlds We Are (curated by Brenda Meigoza Ciardiello), Sundance Square Community Artist Gallery, and Zona 7 Gallery.

The musical stage will feature more than more than 21 different local bands and musicians, including Country/Western musicians on Thursday, Singers/Songwriters/Storytellers on Friday, Jazz/Rhythm & Blues on Saturday, and dance bands on Sunday. It will open at 10 am April 18-21, and admission is free. Find more information here.