Main St. arts fest will have lots of detours

Those of us who have worked in downtown Fort Worth for a long time often run into signs that not everyone comes downtown every day -- signs such as drivers going the wrong way on confusingly laid-out one-way street (some of which start as two-way and then turn into one-ways), or people making left turns out of middle lanes when they suddenly spy that street they're looking for.

With construction on Sundance Square Plaza going on, downtown is more confusing to outsiders -- and some of us insiders -- than ever. The Plaza will take up two blocks on either side of Main Street between Third and Fourth Streets. Sure, those blocks consisted mostly of parking lots -- but if you've been to the Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival, which draws more people downtown than -- well, anything -- you know those blocks were hives of music and food activity.

So this year, Main St. is adapting. The fest, which will run April 18-21, is a month off, but it's not too early to prepare for these detours:

--The Sundance Square Stage (main stage) will be moved one block west to the parking lot bordered by Fourth, Fifth, Houston and Throckmorton Streets.

--The artists usually showcasing in “Artist’s Square” will be accommodated throughout Main Street. And Main St. is already planning for 2014, when the new “Artist’s Square” will be unveiled in Sundance Square Plaza.

--Food vendors will be located throughout the nine-block festival (most, but not all, of which is on Main Street), with a new food court going onto Fifth Street between Throckmorton and Houston Streets next to the Gateway Lot.

--Depending on traffic, Houston Street may be closed between Fourth and Fifth Streets between 6 and 11 p.m. April 18-19 and between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. April 20-21.

--Fifth Street will be closed between Throckmorton and Houston Streets from 6 p.m. April 17 through 11 p.m. April 21.

At this point, Main St. organizers don't expect further changes, but for updates, check the festival's Facebook page or Twitter feed.

These changes, by the way, are nothing compared with the street closures that occur downtown during every Main St. fest, and there are more of them than we care to replicate here -- but here's a list from the fest's official website, where you can also find a festival map and ways to get there, some of which involve letting someone else do the driving.