With the forecast of a Texas thunderstorm, Saturday's Dallas Festival of Ideas will now take place in Section A of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The event had been scheduled outdoors at Dallas City Hall Plaza, until the probability of rain forced the change.
"Based upon pending weather, we are moving Dallas Festival of Ideas from City Hall to the Convention Center," said Kevin Thornburg, the general manager for CrowdSource.
The Dallas Festival of Ideas is co-presented by the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture and The Dallas Morning News, produced by CrowdSource and Public City and made possible by title sponsors AT&T and Bank of America.
"We are transitioning everything indoors," Thornburg said. "And that will include all of the panel discussions, the hub activities, opening session with keynote speakers, the closing session and a community concert with the Polyphonic Spree."
Thornburg recommended that festival visitors enter the center near the corner of Akard and Marilla streets, just across from City Hall. He also recommended taking DART to its Convention Center station.
"It doesn't get any more convenient, and you can take the Red or Blue line," Thornburg said.
He emphasized that the event is free and open to the public, except for parking in nearby lots that ranges from $3 to $15. Food and beverages will also be available at the Convention Center, but of course, that too will carry a cost.
The Dallas Festival of Ideas is operating in conjunction with the Dallas Book Festival, which will remain as planned at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.
"We will be running free shuttles between the Convention Center and the library throughout the course of the day," Thornburg said.
The Dallas Festival of Ideas opens at 10 a.m. Saturday and lasts until 7:30 p.m. Festival highlights include panel discussions from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. that will cover such topics as "The Physical City," "The Cultural City" and "The Entrepreneurial City."
The Polyphonic Spree, a choral rock band from Dallas, will perform a closing concert that begins at 6 p.m. on the Main Stage in Ballroom A3-A4.
AT A GLANCE
UPDATE: This story has been updated with new DART rail access information.
WHEN The Dallas Festival of Ideas and the Dallas Book Festival run April 29 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The festivals will take place rain or shine; for updates, check thedallasfestival.com.
TICKETS General admission to both events is free. Registration for the Dallas Festival of Ideas is required at thedallasfestival.com. For registration questions, call the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture at 214-871-2440.
VENUES Both festival venues are in downtown Dallas.
Dallas Festival of Ideas: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center's "A" spaces (near Marilla and Akard streets), 650 S. Griffin St., Dallas.
Dallas Book Festival: J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St., Dallas
PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION
DART rail: The Convention Center station is the closest to the festival and can be reached on the Red and Blue lines. If you are taking the Green or Orange lines to Downtown, switch to Red or Blue at West End Station. For more information and schedules, visit dart.org
.Parking: Paid public parking lots are available around the festival sites, but organizers ask attendees to use DART when possible.
FOOD AND BEVERAGES Food trucks will be on Ervay Street, and food and beverages will be available in the Convention Center.
FOR MORE INFORMATION thedallasfestival.com and dallasbookfestival.org.
