Mayfest

Mayfest! What else is there to say. Mayfest is a celebration of the arrival of Spring occurring the first weekend of May in Trinity Park. They have food trucks, vendors, shows (like a water skiing squirrel), musical acts, and carnival rides. I go every year with my family and merriment is enjoyed by all!

I finally made it to Mayfest...and it was amazeballs! I've been hyped up about this festival for quite some time now and it was EVERYTHING! So, I didn't realize how huge mayfest is. As we walked around we stumbled across several different things. on the outskirt/entrance area there is plenty of food and ticket booths to get you started off just right. There's even atm' s for those who tend to carry cards. So, as walked around I decided to get a funnel cake (half powdered and half chocolate and caramel) yummm. Afterwards, the hubbs got a turkey leg and I tried some of that too..it was good and so was the funnel cake. I contemplated rising some of the rides but didnt want the hassle of getting tickets THEN standing in line for a ride so I opted out and we walked the center of the fest. We stumbled across a young dance group, an elder dance group, a smaller kid dance group amsnthe main stage where the guest performer waa tearing it up. She was really good. So all of the dance stages looked as though they had families surrounded by them and so we assumed the center area was the kid/family area. We watched the shows, listened to some music a d really enjoyed a good time and some good company. I'll definitely be back next year.

While enjoying work, someone suggested I visit this local town fair/festival on the very nice Trinity Park of Fort Worth. I enjoyed the walk along the trail (careful - way too many mosquitos and gnats) get some insect repellent. The festival looks bigger from a far away distance, get closer and it's a bit of a disappointment. $8 bucks to get in and pretty much everything is $5 bucks. Coors (horrible!) $5. The entrance has all the rides for kids and the cotton candy stand. There are multiple small booths that sell tickets - only cash!! Basically a dollar a ticket. After walking to the other side you notice it's all the same food vendors, everything pretty much fried, some gyros, a mix of Asian, corn dogs, lots and lots of Coke. There are some "artisan" shops in the middle of the festival - somewhat prices for tourists.I was pretty disappointed with the event it self. I get it's for a good cause but I think it needs to be much better food wise and drink wise. There was a beer garden - $6 to $8 a beer pretty much what you pay at a local bar. Essentially that's where I ended up drinking.Not really a place I would visit again.

I'm not sure how this isn't on Yelp already? I did a number of searches and didn't find anything, so sorry if I some how missed it. There are other festivals listed, and as Mayfest has run for 41 years this year, I think it is safe to say it will be around for awhile! This is a cute little festival that typically runs through a gorgeous part of the year. When the days are perfectly sunny but not yet sweltering, and you just want to get outside and do SOMETHING, this little festival hits the spot. There is live music and shows to enjoy, games, and what not. When we went, there was a cute dog and frisbee show, and some talented belly dancers. They also had a haunted house (I love all things spooky) so it gets a star just for that. There is a lot of cute booths selling stuff you don't need but really want, as well as some good people watching. A great place for photo opportunities too. The cost is a bit high comparatively as most festivals are free, but they use the proceeds to benefit the community so I can't grumble too much. The cost of food and drinks is also pricy, but it always is at these kinds of events. There is a good range of tasty things however, and you can have a pretty good day without draining the wallet too much. Also, you must like (or be able to tolerate) children, as they are EVERYWHERE at this event. They have tons of free kid activities.... which I wish they'd let the young at heart do as well! ha. For those of us without kids...there is beer, glorious beer. Overall I'd say it is a nice event, worth going to if the weather is fine.

I've always went to Mayfest when my husband's work were sponsors. They aren't anymore, so it's been awhile since I went. My daughter's class had a field trip to Mayfest and I went. Mayfest is geared more toward families and kids. Nice little festival with alot to do for your kiddos! From face painting to a petting zoos. Mayfest is nice to just get out and do something. Lee's grilled cheese and a hot dog truck was there. Those brats and grilled cheese were pretty good! Enjoyed watching the kids have fun!

So I planned my spring trip to visit my folks in Fort Worth around Mayfest this year. In the late 80s and early - mid 90s my parents always took me to Mayfest and I was really looking forward to sharing this experience with my 5 year old. When I was a kid there were multiple hay/ play equipment obstacle courses, tents where you made maracas/tambourines/ sand art/ small clay figures, sand piles with treasures in it, tricycle races, sack races, balloon animals, tossing games, and more. Now their kids area is a bit sad. There were some very expensive carnival rides/ a $7 walk in a circle 4 minute pony ride, a very well done fire safety demonstration, some expensive inflatable obstacle courses, a few bounce on balls, and two simple crafts and that was it. Also many of the inflatables were allowed to sit in the sun. At one point I had to go in after my daughter who had gotten a little stuck. Parts of the course were so hot that part of my foot literally blistered. Kudos though on making the non-food vendors very avoidable. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable to have to walk directly past people trying to sell things at fairs when you have no interest in buying things. While we are on the subject the vendors at the fair did not seem to do very well, everyone was walking around them and I don't think I saw anyone at any of the vendors despite large crowds at the fair and walking past them multiple times. In short if you are looking to do something fun with the kids there are much cheaper and better options. If you are a non-food vendor trying to sell something you are probably wasting your money/ time. Very disappointed the kids stuff has gone down hill so much.

More suited for children. Very lack luster. I will try to not sound negative, but why is that the parking for the event is so far away? More than 2 hours spent looking for parking. I just find it utterly unacceptable when you have to drive to the boondocks and then be shuttled from an obscure field by chartered busy back to the event. Next issue...why does it cost 6 tickets for a bottled water? Really $3 for a water! I can buy a 24 pack of dasani from krogers for $5.99. The best part of Mayfest was that it was located next to the river. Im glad I went to see what the hype was about, but I will not be coming next year.

Very disappointed. Although some of the events were very interesting. I was extremely disappointed to see the prices of the rides for the kids and the drinks and food. Drinks were $3.00 (6 tickets) for water and Sodas. You had to purchase tickets for food, drinks, and rides. One ride was 20 tickets and all the kids rides were 10 to 14 tickets. Family friendly event if you want to purchase Dollars Store items for Premium Prices. Not an event I will be attending again.

Rides are very overpriced - $5 per person for a kiddie ride? But if you are going for the entertainment / performers, then it's not bad.

We enjoyed Mayfest. There were kid things. Lots of kid things. There were grownup things. It wasn't spectacular, but it was fun. It IS expensive. For 2015 parking = $10, admission for one adult and two kids = $18. Everything is paid for with coupons. Coupons were $1 each but a ride like the Tilt a Whirl cost 5 coupons/ $15 for the three of us. Yeah, that's an expensive ride and you can imagine how quickly the cost of enjoying Mayfest with kids added up. We were allowed to bring in water bottles but they quickly ran dry and there was nowhere to refill. 3 bottles of water @ 3 tix ea? Yep, $9. It would be a great date though - lots of free music, a plenty of things to talk about, a stroll by the river.In summary, fun but not wow. Expensive.