A year ago, a little event called StreetFest got real popular, real quick. A few thousand people gathered in Downtown Sanford on a perfect spring day for live music, food trucks and a 20-minute fireworks capper rivaling early July.
StreetFest returns on Saturday, and so do the fireworks, the food and the music. The day begins with the first Kettle Krush 5K run in the morning and culminates with a performance by Chapel Hill’s Southern Culture on the Skids (followed, of course, by the fireworks … did we mention fireworks?)
Helpful links
- Full Schedule
- Event Map
- More on the fireworks
- Kettle Krush 5K run
- Our feature on Southern Culture on the Skids
- Weather forecast (spoiler alert: 80 and no rain)
The second annual event — a celebration of downtown’s recent revitalization — is hosted by the City of Sanford, Downtown Sanford, Inc., the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, title sponsor Industrial Construction Experts and local businesses and nonprofits. In addition to the aforementioned fun and yuks, Saturday will also include games for the kids, a video game truck, a petting zoo, a cornhole tournament, puppet parade and more.
Steele, Carthage, Moore and Wicker streets will close early Saturday for the 5K and will remain closed all day. VIEW PARKING MAP HERE
MUSIC
Local favorites Tuesday Night Music Club will take the stage to open the festival, followed by Whisky Revival and The B-Sides. There will be a second stage to showcase local talent including Diali Cissokho, Nakia Latrelle, Ravenne Escobar, the Temple Teens and the Lee County High School Show Choir. Southern Culture on the Skids is scheduled to take the stage (the main stage) at 6:45 p.m.
FOOD
Food trucks will be set up around downtown for lunch and dinner, including Bull City Street Food, NC Wings & Things, Bold Flavors, Hibachi Xpress, Tacos El Primo, Healthy Grill on Wheels, Sandwich Mike’s, The Dream Cream, WildFire Pizza and Kona Ice.
MORE
The StreetFest is family friendly. The festival’s Fun Zone opens at noon on Carthage Street complete with inflatables, games and face painting. The CCCC Men’s Basketball team will stop in with Charlee the Cougar for an hour starting at 2 p.m. Other characters — including the Sonic Hot Dog, the Chick-Fil-A Cow and Campbell University’s Gaylord the Camel — will also make appearances.
Several demonstrations are scheduled throughout the day, including a martial arts demonstration by Black Belt Leadership Academy, a Tai Chi demonstration by Peggy Rowles and a salsa dancing demonstration by Sanford Latin Dance. Yoga Garden PBO will offer a yoga class for all ages. There will also be kid-friendly activities at many of the vendor booths.
After Southern Culture on the Skids performs (starting at 6:30 p.m.), head to Depot Park for a dance party complete with Face 2 Face by Tiffany Vale, the Roasted & Toasted truck, snacks and Coke beverages while everyone waits for fireworks to decorate the sky over downtown.
For more information, contact Jennifer St. Clair at (919) 718-4659 x 1400 or Kelly Miller at (919) 777-1133. To stay updated on the day, visit sanfordstreetfest.com or join the Downtown StreetFest & Fireworks event on Facebook at www.bit.ly/dsstreetfest.