Lexington, Ky - The Spotlight Lexington Festival, the city's celebration as host of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, begins one week from Friday, offering a 17-day schedule of free concerts and other activities throughout downtown.
It's that "throughout downtown" part that has worried many. Specifically, what is this going to mean in terms of traffic?
Mayor Jim Newberry addressed those concerns at a morning press conference. "Spotlight is going to be a lot of fun for visitors here for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, but also for our local citizens," he said. "There will be some challenges downtown in terms of traffic and street closures, but with a little patience we can all have a great time."
The mayor said detailed information about street closures is now listed on the Spotlight Lexington website, http://www.spotlightlexky.com.
Running from Sept. 24 through Oct. 10, the festival begins daily at 11 a.m., when food and beverage vendors open. On most days, the festivities are scheduled to continue until 11 p.m.
Extended closings will impact Barr Street which runs east-west on the north side of Courthouse Plaza. The courthouse garage will remain accessible via Martin Luther King. Also affected will be Short Street and Limestone and intermittent closings will affect varying sections of Main Street.
Traffic is likely to be heaviest on the three Fridays of Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8.
The opening night on Friday, Sept. 24, sponsored by Applebee's, will kick off at 6 p.m. with Scott Said and the Backroads Band, followed by American Idol star Danny Gokey at 7 p.m., with country star Blake Shelton taking the stage at 8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 1, features Broadway and now country star Laura Bell Bundy; and Friday, Oct. 8, starts with Bluegrass star J.D. Crowe and ends with newgrass star Sam Bush.
In addition, hip hop great Rob Base will finish the festival on Sunday, Oct. 10. The final weekend of entertainment is sponsored by the Convenience Stores of Speedway.
The major Spotlight concerts will all be held on the Pfizer Animal Health Stage at the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza. Other concerts have been planned for the Insight Stage at Cheapside Park. Triangle Park will feature Kentucky Proud products plus arts and crafts vendors in the Kentucky Market and free children's activities each Saturday and Sunday of the festival.
A video board will carry coverage of NBC Sports and Universal Sports from the Kentucky Horse Park. It will be located in Phoenix Park, facing the Centrepointe block. Some of the dates and times of that coverage are listed on the entertainment page of the website, http://www.spotlightlexky.com.
Traffic updates will be available on the city's website, http://www.lexingtonky.gov. Starting Monday, Sept. 20, the front page of the city's website will be devoted to Spotlight Lexington, providing updates on traffic, entertainment and more. Traffic Engineers will remain on duty in Lexington's Traffic Management Center until 11 p.m. or midnight each night of the festival to ensure that traffic flows smoothly into and out of downtown.
Parking is available in the downtown garages and curbside. For a map of parking lots and garages see the Spotlight Lexington website. North of High Street, LexPark metered parking spots will be free each day of the festival, beginning at 3 p.m. Newberry thanked LexPark for its support.
During the Games, the city's call center, LexCall 3-1-1 (425-2255), will have extended hours (7 a.m.- 11 p.m., weekdays; 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays). Citizens who spot problems or have a concern during the Games, can call LexCall. As always, for emergencies call 911.
While LFUCG is listed as a sponsor, the festival is funded primarily by local businesses. The presenting sponsor is St. Joseph HealthSystem. Additional cash and/or in-kind products and services are being provided by WKYT, Coca-Cola, Kentucky Utilities, Applebee's, Don Jacobs, Brown-Forman, Valvole, Speedway, Pfizer Animal Health, Lynn Imaging's Monster Color and Smiley Pete Publishing. Support also is provided by the Kentucky Arts Council, LexArts, the Downtown Lexington Corporation, the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau and PODS.