Crowds enjoy live music during Ambler’s Arts & Music Festival on June 16 and June 17, 2023. (Credit: Elizabeth Wahl Kunzier)
Preparations are underway for the 2024 Ambler Arts and Music Festival as tens of thousands are expected to descend on the borough next weekend.
The 13th annual event will kick off at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 14, throughout downtown Ambler. The free event will go on rain or shine. It’s scheduled to take place from 6-11 p.m. on June 14, and continue Saturday, June 15 from 12:30-11 p.m.
“It’s so much fun,” said Ambler Main Street Manager Elizabeth Wahl Kunzier, adding “there’s so much to do, there’s so much to see.”
“Everyone comes outside, all of our restaurants come out, which is awesome. A lot of our shops and boutiques come out on the sidewalk,” she continued. “You could spend hours just walking up and down Butler Avenue, checking stuff out and then music, it’s free.”
Hosted by Ambler Borough, Ambler Main Street and the Rotary Club of Ambler, around two dozen volunteers help throughout the event that’s become a longstanding tradition that’s grown in popularity over the last decade.
The two-day festival includes several components, showcasing art, food and music in Ambler. It runs along Butler Avenue, from Race to Main streets. Music stages will be placed by the Ambler Savings Bank and the borough’s Cavalier parking lot. Additional attractions will be situated on a portion of Ridge Avenue and along Cavalier Drive.
Attendees can stroll through Ambler, peruse vendor tables and patronize local businesses. Around 86 artisan vendors will be selling numerous types of crafts, jewelry and photography. The festival will also feature two beer gardens, with cash and card accepted. Food trucks with items ranging from lobster rolls to jerk chicken to fries to bacon delicacies will be available for purchase.
“It’s fun. You can grab a beer. We have a beer garden right in the music venue,” Wahl Kunzier said.
As for the music, Yellow Moon will kick things off on Friday, followed by Disguised as Saints and Triple Rail Turn, according to a lineup posted on the event’s website. Two Rocks Rye will open Saturday’s festivities, followed by Mostly Harmless Band, Ndichu, Pixie Twist, Variable Elements, The Verdict Reggae Soca Band, and The Alter Ego Experience.
Festivalgoers can bring their own chairs, according to the event’s website Wahl Kunzier credited the event sponsors as she emphasized the importance of sourcing talent to enhance the festival experience.
“Because we have amazing sponsors, we’re able to pay for really good bands. So we’re able to give quality entertainment. I mean, these guys are all professional, really good musicians. So I think that’s a draw, and it’s all different kinds of music so everybody can get something that they like.”
“I mean at the end of the night last year, my 20-something (kids) were (jamming) out with you know, my peers, everyone was dancing,” she continued. “So I think it’s (an) all inclusive community event. I think there’s something for everyone…”
Planned road closures will be in place ahead of the event, with partial road closures of Poplar Street, Cavalier Drive and Ridge Avenue will take effect at 12 a.m. Friday. Butler Avenue will close at 2 p.m. Friday from Main to Lindenwold streets. The roads are expected to reopen around 3 a.m. Sunday after the festival concludes, according to Wahl Kunzier.
Wahl Kunzier recommended attendees park at nearby train stations in Fort Washington and Penllyn and take the train over to Ambler. No coolers or glass bottles will be permitted. Visit amblerfest.org/2024-music-fest/ for more information.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between Wissahickon Now and The Ambler Gazette. To read more stories like this, visit the Ambler Gazette.
