Amber Brislin remembers standing on stage at the Magnolia Bowl in 1996, performing with her high school show choir before a crowd of thousands at the first Market Street Festival.
Nearly three decades later, Brislin – who has served as the event’s coordinator for 18 years – is counting down to the 30th annual Market Street Festival, set for May 2.
“(I’m) proud that we’ve kept this tradition going for that long, and it’s still something that Columbus enjoys and comes to,” Brislin told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “… A lot of special events run their course or lose popularity after so many years, and Market Street has really stayed strong, gotten bigger every year (and) always has that community buy-in.”
Since that first year, organizers have moved the main stage, added a second stage, condensed the footprint, shifted from a two-day event to one, relocated the festival and ultimately returned it to its roots on Fifth Street.
Despite its many changes, anticipation surrounding the event has remained constant, said Barbara Bigelow, executive director for Main Street Columbus.
“We’re always excited about it each year,” she told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “It’s fun to bring to our community a really good family-friendly event that everybody can enjoy.”
This year’s festival is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with 152 arts and crafts vendors and about 20 food vendors set up from the corner of Fifth and Main streets to Third Avenue South.
A children’s activity area will be set up near the intersection of Sixth and College streets, and the festival’s annual car show is scheduled to run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. near the intersection of Third Street South and College Street.
Performers will take to two music stages throughout the day, with the Main Stage located on Fifth Street South and a second stage located on Fourth Street South.
Main Stage acts will include Mason Honnoll, Dawn Barham Band, The Mojo, Artistik and Midnight Radio. The Catfish Alley Stage will feature performances by Suzuki Strings of Columbus, Catfish Alley Studio students, Golden Triangle Theatre, Goodloe and Kailee Chilcutt, Jordan Tilley and Bill Cooke, with performances at both stages running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Leadership Plaza, which has previously hosted the second stage, will serve as a shaded sitting area with tables and chairs for festival-goers to relax and enjoy their food.
The festival typically attracts between 20,000 and 30,000 attendees, Bigelow said, and festival-goers are encouraged to arrive early to find parking. Handicapped parking will be available behind St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Beginning at 6 a.m. Friday, the city parking lot between College Street and Third Avenue South will be closed, along with Fourth Street between College Street and Main Street.
The city parking lot beside Catfish Alley and College Street will be closed and must be vacated by 3 p.m. Friday, along with the lot behind the U.S. Post Office.
Street closures will also begin at 3 p.m. Friday, including Fifth Street South from Main Street to Third Avenue South, College Street from Third Street South to Seventh Street South, Sixth Street South from Main Street to Third Avenue South, Fourth Street South from Main Street to Third Avenue South and Third Avenue South from Fourth Street South to Sixth Street South.
Streets and parking lots will reopen by 10 p.m. May 2. Main Street will remain open throughout the festival.
Festival t-shirts are available for purchase ahead of the event at the Columbus Main Street office and will also be available during the festival. Additional information and festival maps can be found on the Market Street Festival website.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
