A festival designed to be a “celebration of culture” takes place downtown next weekend.
Taylor Fest, previously called Blackland Prairie Days, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Heritage Square.
Ruby Fisher, special events organizer for the city of Taylor, said organizers wanted to make sure residents’ favorite part of the spring festival remained in place this year.
“When I would talk to people about Blackland Prairie Days, their favorite part would always be the ballet folklórico troupe that came through,” Fisher said. “They would always talk about how that’s not a cultural experience that they get to see in Taylor very often.”
Fisher added that the more she talked to, the more people expressed approval of bringing in even more cultural performances, which she defines as acts that come from culture or heritage.
Other cultural performances include a dragon dance and live music.
Fisher said there will also be craft vendors and food vendors stationed in the City Hall parking lot. She added that current construction makes the splash pad unavailable.
“This event is absolutely family-friendly for everyone,” Fisher said. “My hope is that we see big families coming out, having a good time and enjoying the Saturday.”
She added that over 900 people are listed as interested on the event’s Facebook page and hopes they attend and bring their family and friends.
Taylor City Council approved to rebrand the name from Blackland Prairie Days to Taylor Fest during a Feb. 22 meeting. Previously, the event was called the Cotton-Picking Festival, Zest Fest and the Blooming Festival until settling on Blackland Prairie Days name in 2018.
Fisher said the name change stemmed from trying to make the festival easier to market.
“The move to name the festival Taylor Fest is to really try to celebrate the fact that it is in Taylor and it is a festival,” Fisher said. “So, when you hear Taylor Fest, you know where it is and what it is.”
Taylor Fest is free and open to the public.
