COLUMBUS – The Columbus Arts Festival will remain on the downtown Scioto riverfront as tentative plans to relocate the event to the Arena District fell through.
The three-day June event, presented by the American Electric Power Foundation, ended its plans to relocate to the Arena District this year when organizers were unable to reach a suitable traffic plan.
“We’re excited that we will remain in a place we know and love well. And with the completion of some of the new construction, the west side of the Scioto Peninsula will have new parking and public art amenities coming online in time for the festival,” festival director Sean Kessler said.
Two new parking garages are scheduled to open on Starling Street, at the west edge of the festival site, on June 1, adorned with three murals by Columbus-based artists, which will be installed by late May, and a sculptural installation to be installed in the summer.
The addition of 1,400 parking spaces in the new Starling Street garages brings the total parking within the four-block radius of the festival to more than 15,500 spaces.