"The second year, some really major artists joined us, and it was dismal; hardly anyone came, and the artists were not happy." That is how Greg Belz, the Memphis native who founded the Art Worth Festival, described the show's 2023 run on the Will Rogers lawn in a September 2025 interview with 360West. Three years later the festival is still running. Its fifth edition opens Friday, October 23, on the front lawn of The Shops at Clearfork, a short trip from Tanglewood.
The move is what saved it. The festival came back on the strength of everyday conveniences at Clearfork, a shopping center close to home for Tanglewood, and those conveniences now set how this weekend works.
What Clearfork Fixed
Art Worth started in October 2022 and held its second edition on the Will Rogers Center lawn October 20–22, 2023. For 2024, organizers announced a new location and new dates, October 25–27 at The Shops at Clearfork. Their recruitment notice to artists listed what the new site offered:
- Free public parking
- Better food options
- Built-in foot traffic
- Less dust than the old site
- Lush lawns
- Promotion from Clearfork itself
The same notice said the move let the festival go back to a full three-day format. Belz told 360West that support from Cassco and Simon, plus new advisory board members, made 2024 "a very successful event."
Every item on that list was about getting people onto the lawn and keeping them there. This year's festival leans on the same features: free garages and a dozen restaurants at The Shops, as Clearfork's role in southwest Fort Worth keeps growing. For Tanglewood, that puts a juried national show a short trip from home.
What the Comeback Paid For
Better turnout attracted stronger artists, and the numbers show it. The 2022 debut had 60 artists and the 2023 show had 80. According to the Fort Worth Report, 86 artists from 19 states exhibited in 2025. The 2026 roster draws from 21 states, picked from hundreds of applicants.
The jury is the clearest sign of the festival's ambitions. According to the festival's September 2026 announcement, the panel included the directors of the Saint Louis Art Fair in Clayton, Missouri, and of Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, which the release calls the nation's oldest art festival. Veteran festival figure Amy Flynn also served. Fort Worth had two seats, held by ceramic artist Pam Summers of Cliff House Gallery and Thomas Lake, a longtime block captain at the Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival.
Belz has been clear that he isn't chasing size. "We never meant for our show to be as big as Main Street," he told 360West, adding that organizers are "content to grow slowly and steadily." The 2026 artist list includes ceramicist Andy Rogers and Eric Mort, who makes flameworked borosilicate glass spheres and pendants. The work spans glass, metal, wood, clay and fiber, along with painting, printmaking and photography.
Plan Around the Stage
The festival's music page suggests bringing a lawn chair, and the posted schedule makes it easy to plan a visit by the hour. Performances are on the South Lawn Stage.
| Day and hours | Highlights from the posted schedule |
|---|---|
| Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | Carter Riverside High School Orchestras at 10; I.M. Terrell Academy Orchestra at 11; Meacham Middle School Orchestra at noon; Texas Boys Choir at 2; Singing Girls of Texas at 3; UNT Brass Quintet at 4; Fort Worth Opera favorite arias at 5 |
| Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Fort Worth Opera at 10; Fort Worth City Band at 11; Forest Oak Middle School Orchestra at noon; UNT Brass Quintet at 1; Fort Worth Youth Orchestra at 2; McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet at 3; East Fort Worth Community Jazz Band at 4 |
| Sunday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir at noon; Maxwell Hall Jazz Band at 1; Pirate Jazz Band at 2; UTA Flute Choir at 3 |
The organizers say Fort Worth Opera performs every day, but the posted Sunday lineup has no Opera slot. If the Opera is the reason you're going, Friday at 5 and Saturday at 10 are the confirmed times. Friday's 5 p.m. set is also the last hour the festival is open that day.
Watching the Work Get Made
Live demonstrations set Art Worth apart from a typical outdoor market. The festival lists glassblowing, metalsmithing, wheel-thrown pottery, stone sculpture and woodturning. "The Art Worth Festival features demonstrations of art disciplines to increase public understanding of the skills and talents involved in creating art," Summers said in the 2026 announcement. Belz, speaking to the Fort Worth Report before last year's show, encouraged visitors to talk with artists about how they make their work.
The festival also runs a two-year program for emerging artists. In the first year, participants serve apprenticeships and get free training. In the second, they can exhibit and sell their work at the festival. Applications for the 2026 class closed September 14. The program comes from ArtWorks Foundation, the nonprofit that produces Art Worth. The foundation says its goal is to give visual artists the kind of administrative and technical support that ballet, opera and theater companies give performers.
Getting There From Bellaire Drive North
The festival is at 5135 Monahans Avenue at Edwards Ranch Road. Admission is free, and so is parking at Clearfork. The festival's parking guide lists two free garages:
- One entered at Ozona off Monahans Avenue, with a second entrance on Gage
- One entered across from Pinstripes and AMC on Trailhead Bend Road
You can also arrive without a car. The Clearfork Trailhead at 4601 Trailhead Bend Way connects to the Trinity Trails, and the Clearfork Main Street Bridge has a pedestrian bridge hung beneath the roadway for walkers and cyclists. The City of Fort Worth's road closure list shows work on River Park Drive between River Park Circle and Clearfork Main Street through November 9, so check conditions before you set out.
Leashed, well-socialized dogs are welcome if owners bring waste bags. Clearfork's own announcement also calls the festival family- and pet-friendly. CRÚ Food & Wine Bar is serving drinks on the lawn, and the shopping center's restaurants are within walking distance of the booths. For dinner after the Friday arias, our recent look at how Clearfork's restaurant row is changing covers what's new.
Where the Art Goes After Sunday
The tents come down at 4 p.m. Sunday, but there is more local art nearby. Doriva Local Art Source opened a 3,500-square-foot gallery at Hulen Mall on July 1. It shows original work by local and regional artists, according to the Fort Worth Business Press. ArtWorks Foundation says it is also working toward a regional Center for the Decorative Arts in Fort Worth. The festival is supported by local sponsors including Central Market and Carson Hearing Care, along with grants from the Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District, the Ryan Family Foundation and the William E. Scott Foundation. That support is why admission and parking are free.
The last scheduled Fort Worth Opera set of the weekend starts at 10 a.m. Saturday on the Clearfork lawn, a short trip from Tanglewood.
At Duwe-Olsen Group, we follow what's happening along both banks of the Clear Fork because our clients live there. If you'd like a Tanglewood perspective on the neighborhood or your home, request a private consultation with our Fort Worth luxury specialists.
