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City staff say Main Street Fest drew 25,000–30,000 and expanded footprint; marketing team wins awards
Summary
City staff told the council Main Street Fest drew an estimated 25,000–30,000 people, expanded to a closed Main Street with more vendors and activities, and reported strong social-media reach; the city marketing team also announced a Lone Star Emmy and multiple industry awards.
Ray Street, a Parks, Arts and Recreation presenter, told the Grand Prairie City Council that Main Street Fest’s move from spring to fall, the closure of Main Street and an expanded layout helped drive attendance and improve the guest experience. “This year we have an overall estimated attendance of 25 to 30,000 people,” Ray Street said, adding the event featured 96 vendors, up from 73 last year.
Street credited interdepartmental planning for keeping the event safe during weather disruptions and highlighted operational changes: relocating the kids zone to the lawn, converting the market square to an expanded bar area and adding new carnival attractions. City staff said they redeemed 1,300 resident coupons this year, representing 61% of wristbands sold, and that the city plans additional activations and a larger layout for 2026.
Jonathan Thompson, the city’s marketing supervisor, reported broad earned and paid media reach. “We reached roughly 1,900,000 accounts and had over 3,300,000 impressions on posts we created,” Thompson said, and noted paid social partnerships, radio spots across the DFW region and digital out-of-home advertising were used to amplify the event.
Council members and residents praised the programming but also raised operational concerns. Councilor Ruben Lopez pressed staff and the carnival operator about wristband and ticket sales near closing, saying families complained about buy-ins close to the end of the night and long ride lines. Staff said they would address vendor operations and ticketing windows with the operator before next year.
Deputy City Manager Cheryl Galian and Marketing and Communications Director Claudia Garibay used the presentation to recognize the city’s communications work: Garibay said the city’s Hispanic Heritage Month campaign received a Lone Star Emmy and other awards from statewide communications organizations. Galian thanked the council for support and credited team integration and new project systems for improved crisis communications and outreach.
Staff presented preliminary plans for Main Street Fest 2026 (tentatively Oct. 23–25) and said a new stage and event lawn under construction could add performance areas.
The council took no formal votes on the festival recap; staff said they would return with operational improvements and continue planning for 2026.
