For the first time in its 28-year history, Arts, Beats & Eats will get off to a late start, following two days of severe weather in Royal Oak.
AB&E will now open to the public at noon Friday, rather than 11 a.m. as scheduled, because of production delays caused by the heavy winds and rain that have swept the Detroit region.
The festival’s fine arts fair will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, three hours later than planned.
“When you have 36 hours to set things up in the streets, and you’re trying to keep your team safe, that’s going to slow you down,” fest director Jon Witz told the Free Press.
The festival — officially known as Michigan Lottery Arts, Beats & Eats Presented by Flagstar Bank — will run through Monday in downtown Royal Oak. The event, which
launched in Pontiac in 1998, is the state’s biggest Labor Day weekend festival, typically drawing 300,000-plus visitors over four days.
A children’s magic show scheduled for Friday morning at the fest’s DIA Stage is the only live performance impacted by the delayed opening.
More than 200 performances are on tap at AB&E for the holiday weekend — including main-stage headliners such as Third Eye Blind and Kool & the Gang — along with 50-plus restaurateurs and 125 arts and crafts vendors.
Arts, Beats & Eats will run through Monday evening. Festival admission on Friday is free before 5 p.m.
Michigan Lottery Arts, Beats & Eats Presented by Flagstar Bank
Sept. 4-7
Downtown Royal Oak
$15. (Friday admission is free before 5 p.m.)
www.artsbeatseats.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Arts, Beats & Eats delays Friday opening time after Detroit area storms
