The Auburn Parks and Recreation Department is preparing for this year’s Auburn CityFest.
“It takes about a year to plan CityFest,” said Ann Bergman, Auburn Parks and Recreation’s public relations specialist. “It is, at heart, an arts and crafts festival. We are really trying to promote a love for the arts and parks.”
The one-day festival takes place at Kiesel Park, Auburn’s largest park, on the last Saturday in April. This year it will be on April 29 from 9 a.m.– 4 p.m.
The theme for this year is “Peace, Love and CityFest.”
“We are taking it back to the 1960s, so get out your Go Go boots,” Bergman joked.
On the Thursday afternoon before to the event, there will be an art preview at the Nunn-Winton house on Kiesel’s property.
CityFest began in 2000 as a project of a then Parks and Recreation employee, Allison Hall.
“They wanted to do a citywide festival that anybody could come to with an emphasis on arts and crafts vendors,” Bergman said. CityFest is now approaching its 17th celebration, and over the years, it has grown significantly. More than 10,000 locals attended the event in 2016.
Bergman has been working with Co-coordinator Sara Hand Custer on plans for this year.
The Juried Art Exhibition Preview and Reception, is hosted by the Auburn CityFest committee, Auburn Arts Association and Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau. Local artists enter their personal work, and winners are rewarded with cash prizes.
The exhibition is free and open to the public, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27.
There will be refreshments, awards and acoustic guitar performances in the Nunn-Winston house. All art will stay on display until the end of CityFest on Saturday.
On Saturday, the park will be filled with art, food and entertainment. Taking the stage this year are The Wannabeatles, from Nashville. They are a cover band who will be playing at the entertainment pavilion.
Other entertainment includes Louie the Clown and the Georgia Irish Frisbee Dogs.
The Children’s Imagination Station, another integral part of the festival, will have inflatables, pony rides and a rock climbing wall, in addition to live characters such as Disney princesses and Storm Troopers from Star Wars.
CityFest will also have a children’s entertainment stage that will showcase Steve Trash, “The Rockin’ Eco Hero.”
Trash “uses magic to be an environmental educator, but he is also a comedian and illusionist,” Bergman said.
New to the Imagination Station this year is the Korean Fest, hosted by the University Office of International Programs.
It is about Korean tradition, and it will be an area where children can make crafts, play drums and learn Korean calligraphy.
The festival is free to the public, and there is no charge for parking or admission; attendees can spend what they wish on the vendors for food or art.
CityFest is hosted by the Auburn Parks and Recreation, and it takes hundreds of volunteers.
“Currently, we are trying to recruit volunteers,” Bergman said. “If you work two shifts, you get a free T-shirt and lunch. We rely on our volunteers and our sponsors to continue to make this a free event.”
This year’s fest will include a wide array of vendors, such as those who will be selling woodwork, ceramics, soap, jewelry, monogramming, leather goods, etc. All products are handcrafted.
“It is a wonderful event that is fun,” Bergman said. “It is important to the whole city, and it is a collaborative effort. Everyone from Environmental Services to the parks staff who paint the lines for the vendors. The entire Parks and Recreation full-time and part-time staff pitch in. It takes a village to do CityFest. It truly is a CityFest. The whole city comes together.”
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