Druid City Arts Festival in downtown Tuscaloosa: What to know before you go

The Druid City Arts Festival returns to downtown Tuscaloosa this weekend with more than 70 artists' booths, a kids' zone with interactive activities, a new beer garden and live music Friday and Saturday.

The 13th annual festival will be held from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday at Government Plaza, 2106 Sixth St.

Admission to the festival is free.

Here's what you need to know before you go:

What to eat

A number of mobile vendors will offer food and beverage options, with a slightly different lineup each day. These food trucks will be parked along Sixth Street:

• Friday: Cajun Curls, Big Tasty, I Love Juice Bar, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Spiedes and Sweet Treats and La Mexicana

• Saturday: Cajun Curls, BobaMania, Big Tasty, I Love Juice Bar, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Spiedes and Sweet Treats, La Mexicana and T-town Snow

Note: The new beer garden will be in a fenced-off area inside a 15-foot-long trailer parked on Sixth Street by the food trucks.

Food vendors with booths set up at Government Plaza will include Trvl Love Koffee, T's Great Salsa, Nana Bakes and Miss Emily's Young Farms.

Festival: Druid City Arts Festival grows from humble start into signature event

Art and more

Attendees looking for a unique gift or something new to decorate their home will have plenty of options at the Druid City Arts Festival.

More than 70 booths will have displays from visual artists and craftspeople selling such  items as soaps, candles, two-dimensional art, clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, photography, sculpture and wood works.

A list of artists with links to their websites is at www.druidcityartsfestival.com/liveperformer.

Musical lineup

The Druid City Music Festival will feature a variety of musical acts, including rock, pop, funk, jazz and a percussion ensemble.

FRIDAY

• 6-9 p.m.: Hannaward Pass, a Southern jam-rock band, first active in the late '90s, early 2000s.

SATURDAY

• 10-11:30 a.m.: Everyday People and Friends, an 11-piece band with horns, playing classic Motown, funk, pop and dance.

• 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.:  Four Times Blue (Jazz)

• 12:30-1:30 p.m.:  Drum Nation, a percussion ensemble from the Tuscaloosa-based drum school, a regular feature at DCAF.

• 1:45-3:45:  Matthew Wurtele, guitarist who has been with The Golden Monica, Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires, and also served as musical director of the Alabama Blues Project.

• 4-5: Debbie Bond, veteran blues singer-songwriter-guitarist, one of the co-founders of the Alabama Blues Project.

Activities for kids

The kids' zone has added more interactive tables, with face-painting, tie-dying and the like, as well as bouncy houses, and representation by the Tuscaloosa Public Library and Gateway Innovation and Discovery Center from Alberta. Adults can also tie-dye, though their T-shirts will not be free of charge.

Parking, weather, etc.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the festival at the 5-acre Government Plaza. Free parking will be available throughout the downtown area, including at the city's free parking deck, which is adjacent to the plaza.

Attendees can expect summerlike weather, with high temperatures in the 90s both days. The forecast calls for  partly sunny skies both days, with a chance of rain after 1 p.m. Saturday.

For more, see www.druidcityartsfestival.com.

Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Druid City Arts Festival in downtown Tuscaloosa 2022: What to know