Springfield's 16th annual Art in the Park festival returns Saturday, September 26, kicking off at 10 a.m. at J. Travis Price Park, 4155 Wilks Road. The free one-day event will line the park's paved trail with more than 70 artisan booths, live art demonstrations, and immersive art installations, plus local food and beverage vendors.
City Hall Takes Over Festival Hosting Duties
The festival's date, hours, and lineup were laid out in a Facebook announcement from the City of Springfield, TN - Government. For the first time, the city's own Parks and Recreation Department has adopted presentation of Art in the Park, taking over from the nonprofit Willow Oak Center for Arts & Learning, which had hosted the festival for years, according to the City of Springfield.
Willow Oak hasn't stepped away entirely. The nonprofit is listed among this year's sponsors, alongside Cannon Kirk Ford of Springfield, Aspire Realty, and Experience Robertson County, the city said. Those sponsorships are what let the city keep both admission and parking free to the public.
Artisan and food vendors interested in a booth have until August 21 to apply through the city's online civic portal, per the same city announcement. Participating artists are expected to sell original work in watercolor, oil, and acrylic paintings, pottery, woodworking, jewelry, macramé, crochet, quilting, and stained glass, with both Robertson County creators and artists from around Middle Tennessee taking part.
A Greenway-Side Festival With A Decade-Plus History
J. Travis Price Park spans 42 acres and includes walking trails, picnic pavilions, a disc golf course, and a stocked fishing pond, according to the Matt Ward Group. Its trail forms part of the 3-mile Springfield Greenway, a paved path along Sulphur Fork Creek that links the festival grounds to Garner Street Park and the historic downtown square.
The festival itself has been running for 16 years, but Willow Oak only took the reins in 2013, for what was then the 5th annual iteration, growing it into a fixture that has drawn between 3,500 and 5,000 attendees a year, according to Smokey Barn News. Whether vendor turnout or attendance will match those Willow Oak-era numbers now that the city is handling recruitment and logistics directly remains to be seen.
Part Of A Broader Civic Push In Springfield
Springfield counted 19,842 residents in 2024, making it the largest municipality in Robertson County, roughly 30 miles north of downtown Nashville, per USAFacts. The city was also named a Tennessee Main Street Community this month, joining 49 other communities statewide in a downtown preservation program, city officials said.
The Art in the Park handoff comes as Springfield Parks and Recreation grows its event slate more broadly. The department debuted its Garner Street Grind skate contest last Saturday and also runs a monthly downtown market series, part of a wider municipal push into community programming.
