We wanted to personally thank the Billings Parks and Recreation Department for their gracious support, and for providing bucket trucks, arborists and consultation as to some of the highest anchor points in trees.
Check out this news reel by Aug 8, 2014 7:49 PM by Aja Goare - Q2 News
Magic City Blues Festival tunes up two fest locations BILLINGS - The Magic City wrapped up hours of preparation for this weekend's big blues festival, which is taking place at two different venues.
But the big stages and accommodations don't set up themselves.
"It's a long effort to put this festival together," said Magic City Blues Festival Site Coordinator Sheena Rice. "We had to bring in the stage, set the stage. We do it all on the day of. We can't even shut the street down until 9 a.m."
From 9 a.m. onward, nearly 100 pairs of hands set up a beer tent, food vendors stations, tables and chairs.
And Montana Avenue's asphalt becomes a dance floor, but only for one night.
"We will have a crew that will take down the stage tonight and then there's a crew of volunteers coming in tomorrow morning and we'll get the rest of it torn down and have the street reopened at noon," said Rice.
But just because vehicles take back the streets tomorrow, doesn't mean the Magic City is ready to put away its dancing shoes.
"We're moving the whole festival to South Park Saturday and Sunday," she said. "We're going have the shade put up, food and beer vendors and it's gonna be a cool party down at South Park."
South Park looks a little different than normal.
This year two of the three days will be solely at the park which is a stark contrast to its downtown counterpart.
"It's not going to be nearly as packed because there's a lot more space here and that's one of the primary reasons that we've come down to South Park," said Magic City Blues Festival Promoter Tim Goodridge. "Now everyone can have a place to sit - all they've gotta do is bring their lawn chair with them. We're on the grass instead of the asphalt."
But both grass and asphalt can be expected for future Magic City Blues Festivals.
"We're committed to both locations because we love the dynamic of downtown and then when you come here you get a different show, so it brings variety to it. So somebody will be downtown and it's energy, loud music, fun cranking and then you come here and the sound is much more pristine because you don't have the buildings - you don't get the echoes," said Goodridge. "So it's a different scene and we like the change from one to the other - so we're committed to the change moving forward."
A full schedule for each day of the festival can be found at www.MagicCityBlues.com.
Be sure to follow this link to watch Aja's video commentary and interview with Tim Goodridge, our host.
http://www.ktvq.com/news/magic-city-blues-festival-tunes-up-two-fest-locations/