Georgetown Edition | April 2023

GUIDE Red Poppy Festival Event to celebrate Georgetown’s 175th birthday T his year’s Red Poppy Festival will not only celebrate the owers from which the three-

RED POPPY LAYOUT

BY CLAIRE SHOOP

The Red Poppy Festival includes three stages, vendor areas around the Square and a parade route that circles the downtown area.

Main Stage

Mayfair Stage 2

Celebrate Stage 3

Courthouse

175th birthday- themed events

Parade route

Parking

Handicap parking

Locations where red poppies grow

day celebration is named after, but also the city’s 175th birthday, which passed in March. Cari Miller, tourism manager at the Georgetown Convention and Visitors Bureau, said event organizers are marking the occasion by having all parade participants wear birthday hats and holding birthday-themed activities and photo opportunities in the South Main Arts District. Additionally, this year’s festival— which will take place April 28-30—will be set apart by its lineup of artisan vendors and variety of music perfor- mances, Miller said. “We have a lot of new vendors coming in, and I’m really excited to see what they bring,” Miller said. American folk duo Jamestown Revival will headline the free-to- attend festival, taking the stage at 9:30 p.m. April 29. It will be preceded on the main Red Poppy Stage by performances from Walburg Boys at 6 p.m. and Wynn Williams at 7:45 p.m. On April 28, Dysfunkshun Junkshun, which Miller called a Georgetown favorite, will kick o the festivities at 7 p.m. with a high-en- ergy show featuring a mix of rhythm and blues, hip hop, Motown, and classic rock. Throughout the weekend, other musical acts will take the Red Poppy Stage and the Mayfair Stage. On the Celebrate Stage, local groups slated to perform include Acrotex, Performing Arts Studio, Georgetown Palace

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The Red Poppy Festival will feature a BMX bike trick show April 30 for the rst time since the 2016 event.

COURTESY RUDY JIMENEZ

Theater and the Sun City Georgettes. The festival will also include a return of the pet parade sponsored by Wag Heaven and a revival of the BMX bike trick show, last seen in 2016. Other festival activities include a car show; a food court; and a kids fun zone coordinated by the YMCA with pedal cars, bounce houses, and arts and crafts activities. For Miller, the 2023 festival marks her 20th year as the event’s orga- nizer. In that time, she said the city has been able to bring more opportu- nities to attendees. While the parade map and parking options remain the same for this year’s festival, Miller said there are changes to the city’s free shuttle service. The shuttle, which will only be available April 29, will run between FBG Church at 1333 W. University Ave. and the Georgetown Library parking lot downtown, she said. “Come prepared to have a great time in some comfortable, cool clothes because hopefully the weather will be really nice and comfortable,” Miller said. A full schedule is available at https://poppy.georgetown.org.

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RED POPPY REWIND

The origin of red poppy owers in Georgetown dates back to World War I, when soldier Henry Purl Compton—who was known as Okra—sent home seeds to his mother, who planted them in her lawn on Seventh Street. Since then, the owers have bloomed and spread every year from February-April. SOURCE: CITY OF GEORGETOWNCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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The Red Poppy Festival celebrates the ower that blooms each year in the city.

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GEORGETOWN EDITION • APRIL 2023