McKinney is home to a variety of annual events all centered around art, culture and entertainment.
By Cassidy Ritter
What makes a community? To most, it’s the people surrounding them and the connection and comradery they build with each other.
The term community is easy to describe but building it is often harder. That’s why the city of McKinney takes such pride in its community. Over the years, the city has developed annual events focused on culture and art to further this sense of community and keep residents engaged.
“McKinney has a thriving arts, culture and entertainment scene that highlights the work of our creative community,” says Amy Rosenthal, director of the McKinney Performing Arts Center (MPAC) and McKinney Main Street.
MPAC, located in the heart of downtown, and several McKinney restaurants also host live music and programs almost every week. There are also a handful of local art exhibits to explore, including The Cove and LAST.
In fact, one of the most popular things that attracts residents to McKinney is the city’s downtown area and Cultural Arts District, according to Cindy Schneible, president of the McKinney Community Development Corporation.
Art Throughout
Recently, McKinney became a designated Cultural District. Achieving this designation from the Texas Commission on the Arts is a prestigious accomplishment. McKinney is one of the only 48 recognized Texas cultural districts out of the approximately 1,200 incorporated cities in the Lone Star State, according to Rosenthal.
“Having this designation means that a community is recognized at a state level for their cultural assets, heritage and programming,” Rosenthal says. “This designation helps provide us with a way to celebrate our community and also opens our district to special funding opportunities. McKinney’s cultural district designation helps unite our downtown and highlights our rich cultural heritage.”
Since receiving this designation, the city has further invested in its culture, including adding three vintage-inspired neon signs in the downtown area for wayfinding and photo opportunities. Other investments, include eight large butterflies hidden through the Cultural District (We won’t say where. You’ll have to explore to find them) and bringing the Texas Music Revolution to town.
The city’s next investment is called the McKinney Silo Mural Project. With work commissioned by Australian artist Guido van Helten, this project will showcase oversized, photorealism murals on the city’s historic 100-foot-tall concrete silos and grain elevator. The silos, located east of Highway 5 near Downtown McKinney, will honor the city’s agricultural and industrial history and pay tribute to redevelopment coming to the area.
An Abundance of Cultural Events
McKinney is also home to several annual events that draw visitors from across Texas. The city puts on these events and festivals to provide a way for the community to come together, Rosenthal says.
Signature events include Oktoberfest with local beer from Tupps, Home for the Holidays: A McKinney Christmas featuring a parade and Santa and Arts in Bloom. But new events have popped up as of late paying tribute to the city’s diverse culture.
McKinney Black History Month’s inaugural celebrations began in 2022. Events celebrating Black lives and voices ranged from an art show and college megafest to a lecture series and a Harlem Renaissance-themed party. McKinney councilmember Dr. Geré Feltus is on a committee that helped put this event together.
“As McKinney has grown, we have seen an increase in cultural diversity and that diversity is something to be celebrated,” Feltus previously told the McKinney Chamber of Commerce. “Black history month is a time for the entire community to come together to celebrate black literature, music, arts, dance, history, etc. … The idea is to give our residence a central location to find ways to engage in Black History Month events in McKinney and surrounding areas.”
Feltus also helped put on the city’s Juneteenth celebration. This new celebration began in 2021 and takes place around June 19th to honor freedom granted to enslaved Black people. The celebration is full of cultural and learning experiences.
Another new event is Día de los Muertos, which held its inaugural celebration in 2021. McKinney resident Jason Hernandez, the co-founder and executive director of this annual event, says he didn’t see an event that celebrated the Latino community so he took it upon himself to create one.
“My family has been here since the 1950s,” Hernandez says. “If you drive around McKinney, you won’t see our family’s names on buildings or any streets but we helped build these buildings and build these streets. But there’s also the celebration part.”
Día de los Muertos is 50 percent education and 50 percent celebration. Hernandez says it’s important to showcase that the Latino community is more than just drinking. The family-friendly event explains the meaning of various cultural symbols like butterflies and skulls but leaves alcohol out of the equation.
Hernandez says last year’s event had visitors and vendors from across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Several visitors said they felt like they were in their home country because McKinney’s Día de los Muertos is not commercialized, he added.
Entertainment Is Not Hard to Find
Residents and visitors looking for weekly entertainment don’t have to look far in McKinney. In addition to live music at restaurants, MPAC puts on live performances and concerts as does the Sanctuary in Adriatica. And more event venues are coming to town.
Development is prevalent in McKinney and several projects under construction or coming soon put an emphasis on entertainment. Hub 121 and District 121 both feature large stages for live music, talks and movie nights. Further north at Hardin Boulevard and US 380 and Custer Road and US 380, more entertainment venues will soon open. Even the new Tupps brewery near the Silo project will have a large stage for music and events.
“Everybody wants a more heightened experience going to eat,” says Miles Prestemon, chief operating officer at Craig Ranch, home to Hub 121 and District 121. “They want that exciting place where they can be and hang out and experience and meet friends. It’s experiential retail. It’s really creating that new sense of place and a development where people want to go.”
It’s not just developers who see the need for these venues either. Schneible says these entertainment venues grew out of what residents were looking for. It also brings people to McKinney and showcases what the city has to offer, she added.
