Arts in the Heart Festival Moves Away From Broad Street Due to Construction Work

Downtown construction has pushed the Arts in the Heart Festival from its usual spot on Broad Street this Sept. 19-21. The festival will still remain in the Augusta Common, but moves towards Reynolds Street and the Savannah River.

"They basically just said that we cannot set up on Broad this year," said Denise Tucker, executive director of the Greater Augusta Arts Council, according to WRDW. "They will still have traffic on Broad, like one lane of traffic going in either direction, but if you've been on Broad Street, it's all torn up."

Setting up at the new spot brings new challenges. Workers must find different power sources and water lines, which adds to the event's cost. The festival will now pack into the Riverfront area, creating a more compact setup than before.

The change affects nearby shops differently. While Broad Street stores might miss their usual festival visitors, event planners are offering free ads in the program guide to help these merchants.

The new site will host 170 artists in a tighter space. Tucker points out a benefit to WRDW: "No artists will feel like they're too far off from the main festival footprint because in the past, you would have to walk all the way from 10th to 6th in order to capture every artist, but in this footprint, everybody's kind of in a square."

Buy weekend passes early for $15 on the Arts in the Heart website. Tickets at the gate will be $20, though kids under 10 enter free.