UA Creative Campus Brings Druid City Arts Festival Back to Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s Creative Campus presents the Third Annual Druid City Arts Festival. The week-long festival celebrates regional original arts with a focus on music.

The festival will begin with free on-campus arts awareness events from Monday, March 19, to Thursday, March 22. On Friday, March 23, the festival Music Crawl will take place in participating venues across town. Each venue will showcase musical acts from 10:30 p.m. until the close of business. Proceeds from a $5 Music Crawl wristband will benefit Tuscaloosa Habitat for Humanity.

The festival will culminate on Saturday, March 24 in a free, all-day, all-ages festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Government Plaza behind City Hall in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more information visit www.druidcityartsfest.com, view the promotional video, e-mail druidcityartsfestival@gmail.com, follow @theDCAF on Twitter or call 205/348-7887.

Now in its third year, the Druid City Arts Festival will focus on musical performances representing a range of genres including indie rock, soul, blues, country and bluegrass. The 2012 headliner is the Revivalists, a band from New Orleans’ original music scene. Patrons can also enjoy performances by Alabama Blues Project, Ben Joseph & The Lay-Lows, CBDB, Electric Moon, Gun Party and Nightfires.

Other guests and activities include Amelia Webber, Erika Wade, Jack “The Face” Blankenship, University of Alabama Resonance Show Choir, Delta Sigma Theta sorority and children’s interactive arts activities. The festival will also feature a variety of on-site food vendors, including Bama Dining, Brothers Street Eats and Benny’s Hot Dogs. The festival celebrates downtown Tuscaloosa alongside the Tour de Tuscaloosa Criterium Cycle races.

Free festival parking is available in the Intermodal Parking Facility next to Government Plaza on Seventh Street.  The Ferguson Center has chartered a Crimson Ride to run continuous routes throughout the day from UA’s Ferguson Center to Government Plaza and back. There is no charge to ride the Crimson Ride, and seats can be reserved by e-mailing uaprograms@gmail.com.

This free community festival is presented by The University of Alabama’s Creative Campus with support from the city of Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Tourism & Sports Commission, UA Student Government Association, Aramark’s Bama Dining, WVUA, the Ferguson Center, Harrison Galleries, LLC., the Tuscaloosa Arts Council, NeedTo.com, UA Office of Advancement, UA’s Zeta Chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority, Center for Instructional Technology, Capstone International Programs, New College, Alabama International Relations Club and Rotary Club.

Events leading up to the festival are:

From noon to 2 p.m. Monday, March 19, at the Ferguson Center Pergola, UA undergraduate creative writing students will read from their works.

From 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, at  Manderson Landing, Alpha Psi Omega, the theater honor society, will present a one-time-only production of a student-written, directed and performed play.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, at the Cherry Tree Grove next to Bruno Library, a live visual art creation will take place. Student artists across campus will have the opportunity to exercise their art in an intimate setting and will be given a canvas.

From 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 22, a Poetry March will take place beginning at ΚΔ Park across from Russell Hall and ending at Maxwell Hall. During the walk, there will be readings all over the Quad and the UA Campus.

Under the auspices of UA’s Office of Academic Affairs Creative Campus is a collaborative system connecting students, faculty and community to nurture innovative thinkers who turn ideas into action. Creative Campus seeks to serve as a hub of collaboration and creative activity at The University of Alabama. At the heart of Creative Campus is the undergraduate and graduate intern program.

For more information on Creative Campus visit www.creativecampus.ua.edu.