Event schedule includes World Music Day on Saturday and tribute to Double Door Inn on Sunday.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Julie Whitney Austin, Executive Director
704-338-1060
[email protected]
Mark Boone, Board President
704-589-1545
[email protected]
CHARLOTTE (September 7, 2017) — Festival in the Park (www.FESTIVALinthePARK.org ) returns for its 53rd year in Freedom Park September 22-24 with an eclectic assortment of live musical performances, along with a myriad of visual arts and crafts to entertain the entire family.
“We’re excited to bring a more diverse sample of the high-caliber musical talent from across our region to Freedom Park, said Mark Boone, Festival board president. “World Music Day, along with Sunday’s tribute to a long-time music venue in our community, are examples of how we continue to bring new experiences for the Charlotte community each September.”
Saturday performances include Brazilian, Creole and Reggae music. Sunday’s tribute to the Double Door Inn includes the Monday Night All Stars, a group with members who performed weekly at the music hall for more than two decades until the venue closed earlier this year.
The Festival continues a fifty-three year tradition of staging the three day event at no cost to the public. Admission is free. More than two dozen food vendors will add to the sensory experience at the park, along with nearly 200 arts and crafts exhibits, 6 performance stages and nearly 1,000 family-friendly entertainers.
Other weekend entertainment includes the return of the Charlotte Folk Society, youth performers, clowns, jugglers, a magician, aerial dancers and nearly every genre of live music. Amusement rides and attractions for all ages will again return to the Festival’s Family Fun Zone.
More than 125,000 people are expected to attend the annual festival near Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. Attendees are encouraged to take the Lynx light rail to the East/West Boulevard stop. Shuttle vans will provide roundtrip transportation between the East/West Boulevard light rail stop and Freedom Park for $2 per person.
Limited parking is available for $10 at Myers Park Traditional School, located at 2132 Radcliffe Avenue and at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School on Park Road. Free roundtrip transportation to the park is provided through shuttle vans from this satellite lot.
Private donors, known as “Friends of the Festival”, help cover the Festival’s cost of renting Freedom Park from Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and the hiring of off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers, Medics and Charlotte firefighters to keep patrons safe.
Named one of the nation’s top festivals by Sunshine Artists Magazine, the Festival boasts an outdoor open-air amphitheater unrivaled in the area. The Festival has also been honored as Best Charlotte Festival by Charlotte Magazine.
This project was made possible, in part, with funding from the Arts & Science Council; the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources; and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
Festival in the Park is hosted by Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation.
Piedmont Natural Gas is the 2017 Green Sponsor.
For more information on acts and activities, visit the website at www.FESTIVALinthePARK.org