Crosswalk art painting starting this weekend; Musicfest road closures announced

More details are rolling out about MusicFest XXXIII, which is set for Oct. 1 and 2 in downtown El Dorado.

On Thursday, Beth Brumley, executive director of Main Street El Dorado -- who is presenting the festival in conjunction with the Murphy Arts District -- announced downtown street closures that will allow for the setup of attractions, stages, vendors and cooking areas in the Pupp's BBQ Rib Cook-Off.

Some downtown streets will also be closed for activities in the days leading up to MusicFest.

Public art

On Saturday and Sunday, the intersection of Washington and Elm will be closed to traffic as MSE moves forward with long-running plans to launch a crosswalk art project in the Union Square/Main Street district.

Brumley said artists will begin painting at the intersection this weekend.

"We are excited that we are getting some crosswalk art. (This is) another form of public art and a photo opportunity when streets are closed for events," Brumley said.

Discussions about crosswalk art have been underway since late 2018 and began picking up steam in 2019, with MSE board members noting that such projects have become a popular trend in urban landscape design and traffic/pedestrian safety in cities across the world.

They also said crosswalk art is another, simple way to enhance the city's award-winning downtown.

"We were getting ready to go in 2019 but 2020 happened," said Brumley, referring to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which led to delays and disruptions in the supply chain for manufacturing and materials, including paint.

She said assistance from the El Dorado Works tax to install an ambient sound system downtown and other financial contributions freed up money for MSE to initiate public art projects, including crosswalk art.

In July, the El Dorado Works Board and the El Dorado City Council approved $37,110 from the El Dorado Works tax to purchase equipment and cover installation costs for the system.

The one-cent, city sales tax is earmarked for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.

Tax revenue is administered by the EWB, who vets projects that are proposed for funding and recommends the requests it approves to the city council for a final vote.

Funding from the El Dorado Works tax will cover the costs for a laptop computer, speakers, mounting equipment and labor to install the sound system.

MSE is kicking in another $10,000 to take care of monthly Internet and licensing fees.

Main Street board members have said they hope the sound system up and running and the kinks worked out by the final quarter of the year or early 2022.

Now, MSE has turned its attention toward crosswalk art.

Brumley said Mike Means -- a local artist, downtown business owner and community volunteer -- is heading up the project and she described the work that artists will be undertaking Saturday and Sunday as a test run.

"We want to see how long it will take and how long it's going to last with cars driving over it. We are using a grade of paint that is used for crosswalks," Brumley explained.

"We want to know how much it's going to cost each time we paint or touch up and give the artists a chance to see if they'll be able to paint in the road instead of their normal canvas," she continued.

She said MSE is starting with the areas of Washington, Jefferson and Elm streets because, typically, those areas are the center of and the first to be blocked for MSE outdoor events.

"Those will be great photo opportunities for people to tag us on (social media). Eventually, we'd like to have painted crosswalks around the Main Street District," Brumley said.

For now, MSE is remaining mum about the design of the inaugural crosswalk project.

"We want it to be a surprise," Brumley teased.

PJ's Coffee block party

Washington Avenue between Main and Elm streets will close at noon on Thursday, Sept. 30, in preparation for a block party to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of PJ's Coffee in El Dorado.

The free event is set from 6 until 9 p.m. Sept. 30 and the public is invited to attend.

The celebration that will include "dancing in the street," music and karaoke by DJ J. Taylor, drink specials, free hot dogs and giveaways.

P.J., which is located at the intersection of Main and Washington, will also offer a 10% discount on sales in the store all day.

Brumley said crews will begin setting up the outdoor stage at noon.

MusicFest

The Miss MusicFest Pageant is set for 2 p.m. Sunday in the First Financial Music Hall and will serve as the lead-in for the festival.

Admission into the pageant is $5 for attendees ages 6 and older.

Each contestant will receive a pass for one person with a paid entry fee.

Music and festival

The music portion of MusicFest will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, with a performance by country music star Frank Foster and special guest Pryor and Lee.

Legendary rapper/actor Ice Cube and rapper Warren G will cap off the festival at 7 p.m. Oct. 2.

Both shows will be held in the First Financial Music Hall and the doors will open at 6 p.m.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the concerts, visit www.eldomad.com or call 870-444-3007.

Main Street will present the festival portion of MusicFest on Saturday, Oct. 2, with attractions, live music, vendors, a rib cook-off and more on the downtown square.

Admission into the festival is free and while the festival perimeter will not be gated, some streets will be blocked to traffic.

Brumley announced Thursday that streets will be closed on the morning of Oct. 1 as setup begins for food vendors, attractions and grillers in the Pupp's BBQ Rib Cook-Off.

"We have to close them to ensure that no one is parked where we need to put the stage, trailers, etc., overnight or all day, hindering the building process," she said.

"They all have to be set up and ready to go by 9 (a.m. Oct. 2). All other vendors and community booths will set up early (in the morning on Oct. 2)."

Streets that will be closed starting Oct. 1 include:

• Main from Hill to Cleveland

• Jefferson from Oak to Cedar

• Elm from Hill to Cleveland

• Washington from Cedar to Oak

• Cleveland from Cedar to Oak

Brumley said MSE will provide a courtesy cart to ferry visitors between their vehicles and downtown shops during the day.

More details are forthcoming about the shuttle service.

She reiterated that admission into MusicFest is free while some activities will be paid.

Paid activities include:

• Attractions, including a rock-climbing wall, four-man bungee jumping, a zip line, mechanical bull, vertigo ride and laser tag -- all of which will be set up on Washington Avenue.

Admission is free for Kids World, which will include face-painting, large inflatables and more in the Mahony parking lot next to Merle Norman on Washington Avenue.

• Entry/competition fees for the Pupp's BBQ Rib Cook-Off and the Cornhole Tournament.

For the rib cook-off, entry fees are $100 per team and $25 each for participation in "side awards," including Best Team T-shirt and Best Music-Themed Cooking Area.

The entry fee for the Cornhole Tournament is $50 per team. Participants may download the SCOREHOLIO app to register.

• MusicFest T-Shirts, which went on sale Thursday. T-shirts are available for $20 each in youth and adult sizes.

• Beer, which will be on sale in the Beer Garden in the area of Main and Jefferson, and water and sodas, which will be sold in the area of Main and Cleveland.

• Tickets for a public tasting of ribs prepared by teams in the Pupp's cook-off.

Tickets are $2 per bone and may be purchased at noon Oct. 2 in the cook-off tent at the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce, 111 W. Main.

Tickets will be sold while supplies last.

Ribs may be picked up from 2:30 - 4 p.m. from cooking teams along Cleveland Avenue.

Tasters must present their paid tickets when picking up ribs from the team(s) of their choice.

For more information, call the MSE office at 870-862-4747, visit www.mainstreeteldorado.org or the MSE Facebook page or stop by the MSE office on the fourth floor of the Bancorp South building, 101 W. Main.

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