Editor’s note: A photo gallery from the event appears at the end of this story.
Thousands of people flocked to downtown Fayetteville for live music, vendors, food, a car show, and fun during the 44th annual Fayetteville Dogwood Festival.
The event, held April 24-26, got soaked on its second night, but organizers called the festival a success. The theme was a throwback to the 1990s and early 2000s.
“This year brought significant change, but also meaningful growth and creating deeper roots here at home,” Kaylynn Suarez, the festival’s executive director, said in a prepared statement.
On April 27, a day after the festival, Suarez appeared before the Fayetteville City Council to field questions ahead of a vote to provide the festival with a $75,000 infusion to steady its finances.
Three weeks earlier, on April 6, Suarez warned councilmembers that without financial help, there was a risk the festival would not return in 2027.
The festival, founded in 1982, fills Festival Park and much of downtown with vendors, rides, concerts, and activities. Organizers have said it draws roughly 250,000 people each spring and generates between $10 million and $20 million in economic impact, based on an outside analysis.
Mayor Mitch Colvin and some councilmembers praised the event and large crowds before approving—in a 7-2 vote—$75,000 in cash for the festival. The city also provides in-kind services to the event, such as police, waste management, and parks staff, which Suarez valued at between $39,000 and $60,000.
“It looked like a lot of folks enjoyed themselves,” Colvin said, noting large crowds and favorable comments he received.
Councilmember Derrick Thompson said he was impressed by security measures, despite long lines at metal detectors and bag checks as people entered. In 2025, the festival was evacuated on Saturday night after gunfire outside the festival grounds. The city responded by increasing security measures at events.
“I think security is paramount to bring more and more people downtown,” Thompson said.
After the 7-2 vote, Suarez thanked the city and called the festival “a success.”
“This year brought significant change, but also meaningful growth and creating deeper roots here at home,” she said in a prepared statement. “Through new security measures, clear bag policies, adjustments to our footprint, and intentional financial decisions to ensure long-term sustainability, we remained focused on protecting the future of this cherished tradition by cutting what we could to decrease cost and ensure we would be back for 2027. And because of your support, we can confidently say: the festival was a success.”
The 2027 festival is scheduled for April 23-25.
