Druid City Arts Festival grows into signature spring event for Tuscaloosa

As the incubated egg of the Druid City Arts Festival left its nest, it grew and flew, doubling days, expanding ground, and adding attractions and partners.

The 2024 15th Annual DCAF will be 5-9 p.m. April 5, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 6, in Government Plaza. Admission is free, and the event is family-friendly, with art and craft booths, live music, a kids' zone, and vendors on site selling food and drink.

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Like most events that seem to spring up overnight, run smoothly, then vanish as quickly as they came, DCAF requires months of care and preparation, said Nicole Moreno-Lacalle, special events operation manager under the city of Tuscaloosa's Arts and Entertainment division.

Late summer through into each new year, committees select the 80 artists whose booths will be laid out in winding paths around Government Plaza, the 5-acre green space at 618 Almon Ave. in downtown Tuscaloosa, abutting the 400-spot free parking deck. Another committee winnows through musician applications, looking to highlight local and regional acts, with an ear toward upbeat sounds.

"We're looking for something to keep the energy going," Moreno-Lacalle said. "There's a lot of traditional sounds, some bluegrass, roots-rock, country, and a little bit of funk there at the end."

As it has for numerous events, including the late CityFest and Weindorf, which helped lay the groundwork for DCAF, Mercedes-Benz U.S.-International sponsors music.

"We have supported many, many cultural events in West Alabama during our 25-plus years in Alabama, including CityFest and Weindorf, the Amphitheater, the Tuscaloosa Symphony and more,” said Felyicia Jerald, manager of communications for MBUSI.

“We value these partnerships and see this as a way to invest in the arts and the overall quality of life for the people who live here, including our own team members. We’re excited about this year’s opportunity to sponsor the 2024 DCAF Music Stage.  I’m sure it’s going to be a great lineup.”

Here is DCAF's 2024 musical lineup:

FRIDAY

Reed Brake (Roots Rock) 5 - 6:45 p.m.

Few Miles South (Bluegrass/Roots) 7 - 9 p.m.

SATURDAY

Mississippi Mason (Country) 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Drum Nation (Percussion) 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Three's Company Acoustic Trio (Alternative Pop) 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Cottonmouth Creek (Contemporary Bluegrass) 1:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Sonic Solider (Rock/Funk/Punk) 4 – 5 p.m.

The 80 artists lean heavily local, also, although with DCAF's growing renown, applications come in from several states around, Moreno-Lacalle said. There'll be works represented in clay, two-dimensional, fiber, glass, wood, photography, sculpture and mixed media, along with artistans in jewelry, candles and soaps.

The Creative Campus Initiative at the University of Alabama, back in 2010, conceived the DCAF notion. The CCI was intended as an incubator, a way to get projects launched, before handing them off to city or other authorities who could handle long-term planning and management, in part because students' tenure at UA tends to top out around four or so years.

The 20-plus year outdoor music and arts festival CityFest and Weindorf had died out in 2005, victim of weather issues, and many of the same problems that lead to fellow events, such as Birmingham's City Stages, to also call it quits. The mostly under-21 students at CCI hoped a new event would open doors of clubs and bars where they weren't admitted, and let their musicians out in the fresh air.

The first DCAF took over what used to be called the CityFest lot, where the Embassy Suites hotel now stands, with dozens of artists, and musicians on the hour. For its next and succeeding years, DCAF moved to Government Plaza.

Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports ― now Visit Tuscaloosa — joined the party in 2013, and over the next few years, grew crowds to 12,000 or more; by 2019, DCAF expanded to two days. DCAF is now run by the City of Tuscaloosa.

It's an event close to the heart of Kelsey Rush, now president and CEO of Visit Tuscaloosa, who spent a couple of years helping plan and grow the event.

"The last one I worked, in 2015, I was tracking my steps, and I remember for that actual Saturday I walked over 14 miles," she said, laughing. "It's definitely a labor of love, and a gift to the city."

That's one reason admission remains free, Moreno-Lacalle said.

"Our goal is really never to be making money from these events," she said. "These are quality of life events that enrich the community and bring people together."

After experimenting with dates, pushing it further back into May, DCAF seems settled on early April, which tends to be mostly rain-free, and yet still warm and pleasant. As such, it serves as gateway to one of the city's busiest seasons, Rush said, and helps enhance our image as a dynamic community, a great place to live, play and work.

It's also positioned right before the University of Alabama's spring football game, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. April 13 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"DCAF is kind of the first major spring event, before A-Day, when people are excited to be outside," she said. Research Visit Tuscaloosa has conducted, contrasting Tuscaloosa with other SEC school cities, indicates both residents and visitors want more events, things to do.

Though fall remains a blockbuster here, "We shouldn't sleep on springtime," Rush said. For more, see www.druidcityartsfestival.com.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: DCAF brings art, music, kids' events to downtown Tuscaloosa in spring