Festifall Back On Sunday After Business Concerns

Mark your calendars, because Chapel Hill’s annual Festifall event is officially set for Sunday, October 2 – though not without a little controversy behind the scenes.

Earlier this month, town officials actually announced the event would take place on a Saturday this year, instead of the usual Sunday. That’s because the town had to cancel the event on short notice last year due to bad weather – and officials said holding the event on a Saturday would leave that Sunday as a make-up date in case the same thing happened again. (Town manager Roger Stancil also said a Saturday Festifall would likely generate a larger attendance.)

But downtown business owners spoke out strongly against the decision, with restaurant owners leading the way. 411 West managing partner Tommy O’Connell said a Saturday Festifall would be “devastating to evening business” on one of the busiest nights of the week.

On Tuesday, business leaders shared their concerns with Meg McGurk of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. After the meeting, McGurk said it had been a good conversation.

“It was a great meeting,” she said. “I really applaud our business community that has a strong voice, (and) I applaud our town partners in the Events and Parks & Recreation Departments (for) being able to have a very open dialogue.”

Following that meeting, town officials reconsidered their decision – and on Thursday, Stancil sent an email to other staff confirming Festifall would be on a Sunday after all.

Chapel Hill has held Festifall on Sunday for the last 44 years, according to Stancil. This year’s event on October 2 will run from 11:30 am to 6 pm on West Franklin Street, with an artists’ market, food trucks, three performance stages, and much more. About 12,000 people are expected to attend.

For more info on this year’s Festifall, visit their website.

Festifall Back On Sunday After Business Concerns

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