FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Julie Whitney Austin, Executive Director
704-338-1060
[email protected]
Mark Boone, Board President
704-589-1545
[email protected]
FESTIVAL IN THE PARK EXPANDS FOOD & MUSIC OFFERINGS FOR 52ND ANNUAL EVENT
Event schedule includes largest number of free, live music performances in Festival history
CHARLOTTE (September 13, 2015) — Festival in the Park (www.FESTIVALinthePARK.org ) returns for its 52nd year in Freedom Park September 23-25 with more food offerings and an expanded schedule of live musical performances, along with a myriad of visual arts and crafts to entertain the entire family.
“We’re excited to bring high-caliber talent from across our region to Freedom Park and continue our fifty-two year tradition of staging this free event for the Charlotte community, said Mark Boone, Festival board president. “The addition of new food vendors will add to the sensory experience at the park, along with nearly 200 arts and crafts exhibits, 5 performance stages and more than 1,000 family-friendly entertainers.”
The weekend entertainment schedule includes 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. Free roundtrip transportation to the park is provided through shuttle vans from this satellite lot.
Parking for the Festival will not be available this September at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School on Park Road. Typically serving as a second satellite lot for Festival patrons, the property cannot currently be accessed due to ongoing construction at the school.
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. Festival in the Park has partnered with uBack (www.ubackforgood.com), a free mobile app that makes it easy for donors to support the annual event with just a couple of screen taps. Donors can find uBack in the App Store and on Google Play.
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 2016 Green Sponsor.
For more information on acts and activities, visit the website at www.FESTIVALinthePARK.org
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