How to go
What: Yellow Springs Street Fair
Where: Downtown Yellow Springs
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Cost: Free
More info: (937) 767-2686 or www.yellowspringsohio.org
How to go
What: The Music & Beer Festival
Where: John Bryan Center, 100 Dayton St., Yellow Springs
When: Noon to 7 p.m. Saturday
Cost: Free
More info: (937) 767-2686 or www.yellowspringsohio.org
Making changes to a beloved event like Yellow Springs Street Fair is a tricky proposition. However, a few logistical arrangements were required to accommodate the more than 30,000 people expected to attend the latest installment on Saturday.
“We’ve basically changed the whole footprint of Street Fair,” said event coordinator Holly Simpson from Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce. “It’s kind of the great experiment. Normally, we don’t close Dayton Street, which is the street Import House is on, but after a debrief from June our new police chief said we’d need to close it just because of the pedestrian issues of people crossing to go to the music festival and having such terrible traffic issues.”
Xenia Avenue, which has long been the heart of Yellow Spring Street Fair, will still be used for many of the 250-plus vendors on-site, but the expansion to Dayton Street should provide more space for attendees to maneuver through the rows of booths.
“We took this opportunity to spread it out, which increases the space monumentally,” Simpson said. “We put some booths on Dayton Street but also took 30 off of Xenia Avenue so we could widen the aisles and, hopefully, make it a little less crowded for people who are coming. We’re the Chamber of Commerce so our first responsibility is to our merchants and this will give an opportunity for Dayton Street to really benefit from Street Fair.”
Entertainment begins on the South Stage at 10 a.m. with a performance by The Great Wide Open. Matthew Thoma performs at 11 a.m., followed by Egyptian Breeze at noon, Justin Slusher at 1 p.m., Egyptian Breeze at 2 p.m., Olivia Francis at 3 p.m. and Sweet Betsy at 4 p.m.
The Music & Beer Festival at John Bryan Center, which was added to Street Fair in 2009, begins at noon with a set from Carl Schumacher. Jeanne Ulrich and the Devil’s backbone performs at 1 p.m., followed by Gin Soaked Angels at 2 p.m., Grampy Bone at 3 p.m., Speaking Suns at 4 p.m., Will C and F.A.M.I.L.Y at 5 p.m. and Subterranean House Band at 6 p.m.
“Music has always been a part of Street Fair,” Simpson said. “I remember coming as a kid and there being performers on Mills Lawn. Having two incredible stages for local musicians over the past few years has been awesome.”
Due to the new changes, parking in downtown Yellow Springs will be limited. However, ample parking is available at Yellow Springs High School and Young’s Jersey Dairy, and free shuttle service will be provided throughout the event.
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