Railyard Park: a place to come together

Sitting on 1.2 acres, Railyard Park, located at 455 S. College St., has seen significant use, including charity runs, outdoor church services, concerts, movie screenings and other community events, since its construction in 2020.

“My vision for Railyard Park is that it’s a place where locals and visitors can come together to enjoy the same thing,” Danielle Guinn, cultural arts and programming manager, said. “I really want it to be a place where everybody can come together.”

Guinn oversees the events hosted by Railyard Park.

“For being such a small and compact space (it) has so many uses and so many different things that we can do,” she said.

The park includes an amphitheater, which can seat up to 3,000 attendees, a sensory music garden, splash pad, lawn seating, picnic tables, connection to Waxahachie Creek Hike-and-Bike Trail, food truck parking and more. The park has multi-level ADA access and is open to pets, including a water fountain for dogs.

The initial idea of building an amphitheater downtown was first suggested as a part of the Downtown Masterplan in 2001. In 2016, Leadership Waxahachie proposed the project and received funding from the Waxahachie Community Development Corporation and the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. Ground broke in 2018, with construction completed in winter 2020.

“The best thing about Railyard Park is that when they built it, they didn’t build it haphazardly,” Guinn said. “It wasn’t built just as a park. It was built in a place where there’s land that can’t really be used for a whole lot of other stuff because it is in a floodplain. … They put this vision together of this amphitheater that is flood proof.”

All the electrical equipment is placed on elevated platforms or within the stage’s canopy to minimize flood damage. The splash pad also serves a drainage system during floods. During a recent thunderstorm, all the water at Railyard Park drained within two or three hours, Guinn said.

Guinn hopes people will come to know Railyard Park as a place to go to when looking for something to do.

“My dream is that Railyard Park becomes a household name,” she said. “Whether there is something going on there that interests you or not, you know that there is always something going on there.”

This summer, the Railyard Nights Summer Concert series returns every Saturday in June, beginning with a pre-show with DJ Alexx at 7 p.m. followed by a concert by tribute bands at 8 p.m.

Each summer night concert follows a theme, only playing music from that genre. The series kicks off June 3 with music from the ’90s and 2000s for a Y2K Party. Other themes include Back to the ’80s (June 10), Motown & More (June 17) and Rock through the Ages (June 24). Guinn said attendees are encouraged to dress for the theme. Mister Softee DFW will be onsite with special-themed flavors. Guinn said they are partnering with Southern Roots Brewing Co. and will have alcoholic beverages available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“While it’s a live concert, it’s really meant to be like a full theme party,” she said.

To kick off the Crape Myrtle Festival, Railyard Park is hosting a Red, White & Blue Country Bash on July 1, with performances by 90 Proof at 4 p.m. and Barefoot Nation at 8 p.m.

On July 22, residents can join Railyard Park for a Frozen Sing-A-Long Experience. Along with a screening of “Frozen,” the night will include costume contests, ice cream, snow cones and more.

“This is not a come here and be quiet … this is a get up, dance, quote the lines,” Guinn said. “If you know every word of the movie, I want to hear you say it as loud as possible because you’re surrounded by other people that love the same thing.”

Guinn said Railyard Park tries to stay away from private events because the park focuses on public community events. For private events, Guinn suggests looking at the park pavilion rentals page on the city’s website.

Guinn is open to suggestions on what people would like to see more of at Railyard Park, she said.

For more information, visit https://www.waxahachiecvb.com/business/railyard-park.

Originally published May 17, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/arts_and_entertainment/railyard-park-a-place-to-come-together/article_df1b5cc4-f4f5-11ed-bd81-0323ff3f1600.html