Bluegrass Heritage Foundation founder, Alan Tompkins, left, can often be found playing the upright bass with the band Hillbilly Fever, or playing banjo with Bobby Giles and the Texas Gales. See them play May 31 at Olde City Park. File photo

Bluegrass music returns to Olde City Park this month for a beloved Wylie tradition — Bluegrass on Ballard. The annual music and arts festival will take over historic downtown Wylie on Saturday, May 31.

This year’s event promises fun for the whole family, with the unmistakable sounds of bluegrass, a classic car show, arts and crafts vendors, fair food, and children’s activities.

What began in 1978 as Wideawake Wylie’s July Jubilee—a weeklong event with everything from speed boat races to square dancing—gradually evolved. Over time, it was shortened to three days and rebranded as Jumping Jubilee Days in the 1980s. Memorable highlights included quirky competitions like the 1998 Toilet Race, where local businesses raced wheeled toilets down Ballard Avenue.

Eventually the celebration was pared down to a single evening known as the Street Dance. A flatbed trailer parked at the intersection of Marble Street and Ballard Avenue became a makeshift stage for local country-western bands as locals and visitors two-stepped in the street. That communal spirit laid the groundwork for what would eventually become a music festival of sorts.

The event we now know as Bluegrass on Ballard began in 2013, when city leaders sought a new direction for the July Jubilee. 

“We wanted to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere and create a new, unique event for the community and visitors in our city,” said Craig Kelly, public information officer for the City of Wylie. “There was only one other Bluegrass festival in the Metroplex, and we thought that genre of music was the perfect fit for our community.” 

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