Even
the weather can't steal center stage from all the great bluegrass
musicians in Raleigh this week for IBMA's World of Bluegrass, but this
weekend the Raleigh Convention Center will be the physical manifestation
of the proverbial "Big Tent" - it'll house more than 100 bands from
around the world playing a variety of styles of bluegrass over the
course of the two-day PNC presents Wide Open Bluegrass festival. In
addition to yesterday's announcement that the ticketed portion of the
weekend will be moved indoors to the Convention Center, organizers
confirmed this morning that the main components of the StreetFest will
also move indoors, including all of the music stages and the vendors
from the Got to be NC, Arts Market, and Shop Local Raleigh sections of
the festival. The NC Pork Council's Barbecue Experience Dinners will also be hosted inside the Convention Center.
The Dance Tent will move
to Salisbury Street in front of the Convention Center - in addition to a
tent over the top, the area will be walled in to help shield dancers,
musicians, and audience members from the weather.
"Of course we've been watching the weather closely all week, and IBMA
staff and volunteers, City staff and volunteers, artists, vendors,
sponsors, and everyone involved in making this event happen has been
focused on how to make the event work in a very different environment
while still celebrating the music that brought us all together this
week. We are particularly glad that IBMA, the City of Raleigh, and the
Convention Center teams have been so flexible in helping us to ensure
that all scheduled artists will still be able to perform, and we look
forward to offering a one-of-a-kind experience for everyone to enjoy
safely this weekend," said William Lewis, Executive Director of PineCone
and the festival's producer.
The new stage locations are as follows:
- City Plaza Stage: Ballroom C
- Hargett St Stage: Ballroom A
- Youth Stage: Convention Center Room 402
- Davie St Stage: Convention Center Room 301 (Ground Floor)
- Martin St Stage: Convention Center Room 302 (Ground Floor)
- J.A.M. showcase stage: Convention Center Room 304 (Ground Floor)
Performance schedules will remain the same,
and schedules will be posted outside the corresponding rooms in the
Convention Center.
Shop Local Raleigh vendors will be placed on
the Mezzanine level of the Convention Center outside the Ballrooms, and
Ballroom B will house the NC Pork Council Barbecue Experience Dinners
and serve as a food court.
Got to Be NC Vendors will be placed in the
North Halls on the ground level of the Convention Center, and Arts
Market vendors will be in the South Halls on the same level.
Martin Guitar will host an acoustic stage in
exhibit hall C, where IBMA's expo will be; this section will also
welcome in activation areas from festival sponsors Boone, North
Carolina; Blue Cross & Blue Shield; Carolina Chevy Dealers; and
more; and it will remain free and open to the public.
Additional food vendors will be outside the Convention Center on Salisbury and Cabarrus streets.
As announced yesterday, the Red Hat
Amphitheater programming will be moved into the Convention Center
Exhibit Halls A and B. The Box Office, Will Call, and VIP check-in will
be on the Convention Center's Mezzanine Level (accessed via the doors on
the corner of Cabarrus & McDowell, across McDowell St from Red Hat
Amphitheater).
Tickets purchased for the
shows at the Red Hat Amphitheater will be valid in the Convention
Center, and the process for entry will be the same: Bring your paper
ticket to the exhibit hall and when you leave, you will get a wristband
for re-entry. In
addition, people with reserved seats will still be guaranteed a
comparable seat in the section in which their original ticket was
reserved.
Members of the public can call 919-645-2665 with any questions about the changes to the event.
Updated information will be made available via wideopenbluegrass.com,
on the festival app, via IBMA's and various local social media channels
and platforms, and on-site at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Sponsors of the Wide Open Bluegrass street festival, presented by PNC, include: Bud Light, Big Boss Brewing Company, Lone Rider Beer, Natty Greene’s Brewing Company, Great America, Ron and Nancy McFarlane, NC Arts Council, Food Lion, Move Loot, Central Carolina Chevrolet Dealers, Boone, Red Hat, WakeMed, Martin Guitar, Blue Cross, Citrix, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP, Covington Vodka, Go Ape, NC Railroad, Highwoods, GoTriangle, Pepsi, Nature’s Twist, Cheerwine, Stanley Martin Homes, Duke Energy, Link Glenwood South, Raleigh Marriott City Center, Sheraton Raleigh, Holiday Inn Downtown Raleigh and Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown Raleigh. Media sponsors include: WRAL, WRAL.com, WTVD, WNCN, The News & Observer, and Curtis Media.
The Youth Stage is made possible this year by PBS from a grant awarded to UNC-TV that encourages the support of public television and the arts, Amtrak, NC Amtrak, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, and 919 Magazine.
The StreetFest is brought to you by collaboration among the City of Raleigh, Raleigh Convention Center, IBMA, PineCone, and Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau. PNC Bank is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC (www.pnc.com)
is one of the United States' largest diversified financial services
organizations providing retail and business banking; residential
mortgage banking; specialized services for corporations and government
entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and
asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management.
