CityView Magazine

Above | Oreo the lemur is just one critter at this year’s festival. Center | Enjoy funnel cakes and other treats at the street fair. Right | There will also be dancing, music and plenty of entertainment. KidStuff, sponsored by the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, features attractions that provide fun experiences and educational opportunities for children. Carrie King is the festival’s executive director. She said organizers started booking well-known entertainers for the free concerts in 2005. Last year, rocker Eddie Money and piano-playing songstress Vanessa Carlton led the weekend. Headliners from previous years have included Hootie & the Blowfish, JoJo and Edwin McCain. “Where else can you go see a nationally-known recording artist and not pay a dime?” King said. Local and regional acts like Swampdawamp, Morris Cardenas and The Borderland Band, Still Rockin’ and Silverstate will open for the headliners on the main stage. People will also have the chance to check out area musicians Saturday and Sunday on the Rock Shop Stage on Hay Street. King said the aim is to bring as many genres as possible to both stages, and it must be working; the festival received three times as many entertainment applications than last year. “Everybody wants a piece of our stage, whether it’s the main stage or the second stage,” she said. “This is the biggest party that our city produces.” But the festival offers far more than just great music. A bustling street fair 40|April/May • 2009 gives people the chance to pick up items they would not typically find. The midway offers games and rides. There will be plenty of classic and custom vehicles on display at the car show. KidStuff, sponsored by the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, features attractions that provide fun experiences and educational opportunities for children. This year’s anchor exhibit is the Two by Two traveling petting zoo featuring koalas, kangaroos, lemurs, jaguars and other exotic animals. And don’t forget about food – gyros, Italian sausages, funnel cakes, ice cream, corn dogs and other treats. Festivities will fan out from Festival Park to Hay Street, Ray Avenue and Maiden Lane. Like last year, shuttle service will be provided. City leaders created the Dogwood Festival in 1982 to celebrate the arrival of spring and foster civic pride. After years as a 10-day celebration with citywide festivities, it was restructured in 2000. Events moved to Festival Park in 2007, and last year, more than 150,000 people turned out for the three-day street festival. King believes this year’s attendance will be about the same.

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