Weekend weather looks to be sunny and clear, with only a slim chance of precipitation for Saturday and Sunday's 53rd annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts.
The festival will be held for the first time this year in Tuscaloosa, at Snow Hinton Park, running 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
More: Tuscaloosa eager to hold Kentuck Festival of the Arts at Snow Hinton Park
The Kentuck Festival spotlights curated work by more than 270 artists, with live roots-based music, spoken word performances by fiction and creative non-fiction writers, an active children's hands-on area, demonstrations, food trucks and local craft brews. Admission is $15 for a single day, or $25 for both days. Kids 12 years old and younger will be admitted free. Pets are not allowed. For more, see www.kentuck.org/the-festival .
Parking is available adjacent to the site, including ADA-compliant parking near the festival's entrance, the side of the park closest to University Mall, and to the rear of Bowlero.
The public is being asked not to park in nearby neighborhoods, or at Midtown Village, the shopping center across McFarland Boulevard. Free shuttles will run continuously from downtown Tuscaloosa's Intermodal Facility, the free parking deck at 2230 Seventh St., from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
It's not just for pleasant temperatures and the festive feel of fall that the Kentuck Festival has traditionally been mid-October. The 10th month of the year is traditionally the driest or second-driest (behind April) in Tuscaloosa, with an average of just 6.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of rain.
After a seemingly interminable hot summer, fall finally fell in Tuscaloosa and environs just weeks ago. Mid-September kicked up one last run of 90-degree plus days, but on Sept. 24 daily high temps began dropping below 80. Another fall came Oct. 14, with the high at 73, and the low at a cool 50. Wednesday saw the sharpest decline yet, with a high of just 64, and predicted to drop as low as 38 at night.
After a likewise brisk Thursday, this Friday through Sunday should rise up to the Goldilocks autumn of mid-70s daytime, possibly going to 80 Sunday, though dropping to mid-40s at night, according to the National Weather Service. There's just a 2 to 4% chance of precipitation, zero chance of thunderstorms.
Winds may be blowing at about 6 to 7 mph, gusting as high as 13 over the weekend, and this year's Snow Hinton layout spans largely open field, so festivalgoers may want to pack layers.
In 2023, the city of Tuscaloosa launched a multi-phase renovation and restoration project for Snow Hinton Park, one of the city's most visible green spaces, with 40 acres where McFarland Boulevard intersects with Hargrove Road, adjacent to University Mall.
The work, budgeted at $12.2 million but expected to come in under, was funded by Elevate Tuscaloosa. It took out the old narrow drive-through road, and built a central plaza and a new pavilion, encircled by an oval walking path. They also improved and expanded landscaping, bathrooms, benches, parking, lighting and security camera systems.
In fall 2023 the Kentuck Art Center began searching for a new festival location, following contract disputes with the city of Northport ― Its gift shop, exhibit, studio, and office spaces are at 503 Main Ave. ― specifically questions about reduced funding, and the city's desire to lock in the festival for five more years, to be held within Northport, but not specified to be in Kentuck Park.
On hearing the Kentuck board was searching, several Southern communities put up their hands as potential hosts for the nationally-renowned event, but Kentuck had always hoped to keep it in Tuscaloosa County, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Tuscaloosa in late December.
Two Tuscaloosa parks were considered: the newer Parker-Haun Park, opened in September 2022, adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater, and Snow Hinton, one of the city's oldest and larger parks, named for the former mayor who drove the city to purchase it in 1975. Hinton, mayor from 1969-76, also spurred the Lake Tuscaloosa project, bought the federal buildings that became city hall offices, widened 15th Street into six lanes, and acquired property north of the river that became Munny Sokol Park.
Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Weather forecast favorable for 53rd annual Kentuck Festival at Snow Hinton Park
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