2016 Freedom Fest and Riverfest plans announced

NEW ALBANY, MS – Freedom Fest, New Albany’s annual summer festival that will be held on Saturday, June 25, has opened up the registration for new arts and crafts market that will be added to the festivities this year.

The festival will take place at the Park Along the River and will include the market, kid’s activities, pony rides, a carnival midway and music throughout the day culminating with a concert by Confederate Railroad. The festival will end with a professional fireworks show sponsored by Barnes Crossing GMC.

The festival will take advantage of the new EarthGrace Riverview Stage currently being constructed at the park. The night before, Friday, June 24, will feature a Levitt AMP show by New Albany’s own Sam Mosley. The Levitt AMP series is a 10-week music series funded by a grant by the Levitt Foundation that was designed to invigorate public spaces.

One benefit of the festival being moved to the park is that it opens up the prior Farmers Market location for the inclusion of a carnival midway. Organizers say that the popularity of the ferris wheel in recent years led them to seek out a full midway company.

The market segment of the event will open the morning of the 25^th in the shaded area of the park, along the walkways by the playground. The City’s Street, Parks and Tourism departments are working to clear drainage in the park to alleviate problems in case of rain for both this event and the 10-week series. (See the end of the article for registration instructions.)

Music from local and regional acts will take the new Riverview stage at Noon and perform throughout the day until the Confederate Railroad show at dusk. While the day music line up is close to being confirmed, it has not yet been released.

Riverfest Date Change

The date of the City’s annual Riverfest has been moved to October 8^th this year to not compete with Ole Miss Football. Organizers say that other than the date move the festival will remain the same as it has the past two years, with an arts market, kid’s activities and a ferris wheel. The city’s tourism department, which manages the event hopes to work with the new downtown director to have a general market on Bankhead street again this year as it was two years ago, with an arts and crafts market at the Park Along the River.

Market Booths for Freedom Fest are $25 for a 10×10 space with an additional charge of $15 for electricity. Registration is online and registration fees may be paid with a credit card. The link to registration is https://visitnewalbany.wufoo.com/forms/z140ushc10norph/

For more information about the festival, there is a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/freedomfestNA/ that will include further information and as it becomes available.