Guest blogger Lydia Regalado is an arts educator, crafter and blogger who writes about people who gather to make things.

The sun came out blazing after the storms, but that didn’t stop the crowds from coming out to CityArts to partake in the annual visual, performing and culinary arts celebration. Here’s a glimpse of what was seen, heard and tasted at this year’s festival. The streets of the Arts District in downtown Dallas were shut down and lined with artists’ booths, delicious food and drinks and museums waived admission prices for attendees to whet their artsy whistle and cool down.

Of course, I had to check out the steady stream of couples that came to audition for the upcoming NBC reality show Marriage Ref. The couple snapped above were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in Dallas.  I guess we’ll just have to wait to see if any couples made it on the reality TV show.

The Children’s Discovery Center was the place to create art. Down by the Meyerson Symphony Center, several arts organizations had art performances and activities set up for kids. My favorite was the collaborative project “Artropolis” by Dallas Contemporary.

Under a white tent, throughout the weekend, a colorful paper city was erected with libraries, newspaper buildings, salons and museums, evoking the spirit of CityArts: community and creativity. Crowds gathered to watch international dance performances and hear a variety of musical genres and artists. The sights, sounds and smells definitely had an international flavor, and many festivalgoers were experiencing these senses for the first time. What was your favorite CityArts experience?