Festifall Arts Festival

Chapel Hill’s annual arts festival, Festifall, is back this October and set to take over West Franklin Street from 11 am to 3 pm Saturday, Oct. 12. This year’s festival will feature an eclectic arts and craft market, live music, interactive performances, and free family fun. Festifall is a signature Town festival organized by Community Arts & Culture with the help of many other Town departments and organizations. Event producers are thrilled to enhance the experience this year based on feedback from the local community, partners, vendors and more.

In addition to the arts-centric change, Festifall has been moved to Saturday afternoon inviting visitors to experience the local flavor of downtown Chapel Hill by making an entire day (or weekend) of the outing. An “After Dark” component will also be introduced this year keeping the downtown scene bustling and vibrant once the sunsets. Local downtown businesses have embraced this change and will be participating in the Festifall happenings by hosting their own arts and craft vendors, activating outside their storefront and offering food and drink specials. Festival guests are encouraged to dine local and experience the cuisine of the downtown restaurants. “Businesses are more excited than ever before, it’s different and unique for Chapel Hill and they welcome that and want to take part in that. Not only does it make for a fun atmosphere but it’s great to see the visitors who flock to downtown for this event,” says Matt Gladdek, Director of Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.

Festival attendees can expect to see a quality range of art including street performances, live painting, spoken word, and bigger music acts. The arts and craft market will feature a more curated and focused group of artisans presenting a diverse assortment of products and prices, all hailing from our region. Performances from The Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, Playmakers Repertory Company, and Poetry Fox are scheduled to pop-up along the street. The Family Fun Zone will feature a participatory graffiti art mural together with creative kid-friendly art vendors and activities. Music headliners include acoustic string trio Onyx Club Boys, singer-songwriter Skylar Gudasz, Afro-Brazilian instrumentalist Caique Vidal, and Charly Lowry of Dark Water Rising. 

Downtown Partnership and UNC’s Arts Everywhere initiative are planning partners for the event and share an interest in bringing more arts experiences to the downtown and campus footprint. Kathryn Wagner, associate director of Arts Everywhere, hopes students celebrate the uniqueness of our artistic region by taking part in the festival activities. “What makes Festifall so special to us at Arts Everywhere is its dedication to creativity and expression. We are thrilled to see artists from the campus and the community gather together to share their craft and passion for the arts with people of all ages in this event,” says Wagner.

Parking will be complimentary in all Town lots for the entire day on Saturday, Oct. 12. Event staff also encourage alternative transportation methods by utilizing Chapel Hill Transit’s free bus system or biking to the event. Learn more at chapelhillfestifall.com.