Lynchburg’s largest street festival, Get Downtown, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. The 8th-annual event, presented by Lynch’s Landing, will be held on and around Main Street in downtown Lynchburg. Admission is free.
Get Downtown was created as a way to welcome college students back to the city, but over time the festival has grown to be a favorite amongst individuals of all ages.
This year’s festival will include some new offerings, among them the Way Crunchy Kids Zone, organized by local mom blogger Azalea Faye. This family-friendly area, located at the Lynchburg Community Market, will feature a “Breastfeeding Oasis,” activities for kids, and pirates and superheroes portrayed by the folks at Enchanting Entertainment Company.
“We are so glad this festival has become a local favorite,” Ashley Kershner, executive director of Lynch’s Landing, said. “We look forward to providing a new and exciting experience this year for first-timers and for those who know and love the event.”
Get Downtown will have three performance venues in 2016, presenting a variety of local and regional acts.
The Lynchstock Stage, at the Community Market, will feature Hemingway, Band & The Beat, Vacation Manor and Paris Jones. On the SunTrust parking deck, located in the 1000-block of Main Street, Cabell Street Collective, The Dundies, Tony Camm and the MG Allstars, Last Nights Villain and D.J. Ed will perform on the Radio 434 Stage.
Farther up Main, in front of the Bank of the James Building, the Academy Center of the Arts Stage will feature performances by the Academy Youth Theatre, Wolfbane Productions, Randolph College Greek Play, and the spoken-word group The Listening.
New parking options this year should make getting to and around Get Downtown easier. There will be shuttle service from parking lots at the old James River Conference Center and the Goodwill workforce center, which is located next to Lowe’s in Madison Heights.
Vendors also have been moved to improve foot traffic.
“It’s gotten a little crowded in years past, so this year we’re changing the layout to include more space for people to walk,” Kershner said. “Food vendors and trucks will be on side streets — not Main Street — and Main Street vendors will be on the sidewalks, instead of the streets, to create more breathing room.”
With various downtown construction projects under way, Kershner also recommends festival-goers visit the event website, www.getdowntownlynchburgva.com, for more information about parking and navigating the downtown area.
This year, there will be two artisan components, where festival-goers can purchase local clothing, jewelry, pottery and other items. Artisans Alley, curated by Stephanie Atkinson, owner of the downtown boutiques Live Trendy or Die and The Conscious Mercantile, will feature work by over 20 local artists. The venue will be located on Ninth Street, between Main and Church.
The James T. Davis Artisans Square, located at Tenth and Main in the parking lot beside Lynchburg Camera Shop, will include work by local artists and craftspeople, along with furniture-painting demonstrations. Also at this site, artists Stephen Kissel, Twon Smith and Christina Ball will create a mural during the event.
Other Get Downtown offerings will include break-dancing, hula-hooping, stilt-walking, zombies, scavenger hunts, video games, a dunk tank, a “buddy band” station to help keep kids safe, and a mobile-friendly event website to help festival-goers better locate activities that interest them.
No pets are allowed.
For more information, visit www.getdowntownlynchburgva.com.
