2-week festival will be ‘nothing like this city has ever seen’
Get ready to see Uptown Charlotte as you know it transform completely. Charlotte City Center Partners has announced one of the biggest festivals this city has seen. From April 29- May 11, Charlotte SHOUT! will take over Center City’s streets with a mega-event that combines music, the arts, food, and innovation all in one.
Event planners, artists, musicians and festivalgoers will fill every nook and cranny in and around the uptown area during the festival’s 13 days.
Here is a snippet of the 75+ events you can look forward to:
- World-renowned light installations — including the Parer Studio bunnies on the Wells Fargo Green, lighted see-saws of Impulse on Levine Avenue of the Arts.
- A battle between popular local DJs going down right in the heart of Uptown at Convergence Plaza at Trade and Tryon.
- Charlotte’s own Anthony Hamilton, the GRAMMY-winning R&B singer, gracing the headline stage at Romare Bearden Park.
- A special cooking demo and tasting by award-nominated Charlotte Chef Greg Collier of Uptown Yolk at the 7th Street Public Market.
- A dinner hosted by the Piedmont Culinary Guild.
- Chances to hear some of the nation’s best speakers talking about ways that we can take this city to the next level. Topics will include transit, equity and inclusion and health care.
- Talking Walls Charlotte will be on site, coordinating with local artists to paint murals in three locations.
Most of the events will be free to attend, but some will require ticket purchase.
“We felt like this was the perfect time because we envisioned this event being the grand finale of the CLT250 celebration,” Adam Rhew, Charlotte City Center Partners Chief of Staff, told Charlotte Five.
“As a part of the year-long celebration, different partners thought of ways that we could leave legacies for the future. One of those ways was this signature destination festival. We knew it could be a tool for helping people experience Charlotte in a major way. We hope it will be a really incredible experience for people, for years to come.”
If you’ve lived in Charlotte for a while, you may have heard this festival name before. Back in the early 2000’s, prior to the recession, the city held a similar event under the same name. However, this new installment will blow that one — and possibly every other local festival — out of the water in terms of scope.
With an event of this magnitude coming to Uptown, one can only worry about possible traffic nightmares, particularly for daily commuters. Rhew assured us that he and his partners will work closely with city officials to make sure the events have limited impact on commute times.
A large portion of the event will be held outdoors. The headline music stage will be set up in Romare Bearden Park, a local music stage will be at 7th and Tryon. Other outdoor venues include: First Ward Park, The Green, Convergence Square (Trade and Tryon square) and Levine Avenue of the Arts.
Most of the larger music events are scheduled for after 5 p.m. However, there may be a few events, where music is played, that take place during the workday.
City partners are expecting tens of thousands to attend Charlotte SHOUT!. The goal is for this initial installment to set the tone for an annual event for years to come.
Charlotte SHOUT! is going to be nothing like this city has ever seen,” Robert Krumbine, Chief Creative Officer for Charlotte Center City Partners, said in a statement.
This story was originally published March 27, 2019 at 10:03 PM.