By JOE MEYER

Fourth Friday returns to Westerville this week, and the city’s first monthly street festival of 2024 will bustle more than ever with music, entertainment and special activities.

Presented by Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital, the Fourth Friday celebration stretches the width and breadth of the city’s historic Uptown District.

State Street is closed to vehicular traffic for the festival from 6-9 p.m., between Walnut Street on the south and Home Street on the north, as the street is taken over by pop-up vendors, live musical acts and entertainers.

Presenting Sponsor

The first blocks of both East and West College Avenue and East and West Main Street, also close to vehicles during those hours, as the locations of more special events for pedestrians. (See updated city map of the traffic restrictions below.) Fourth Friday is staged by Uptown Westerville Inc. and is held monthly, rain or shine, from May through October. Dates for 2024 are May 24, June 28, July 26, Aug. 23, Sept. 27 and Oct. 25.

Residents and visitors alike are invited to enjoy the Newman Roofing summer concert series at Westerville City Hall, catch the entertainers stationed around the district, and visit the food trucks, pop-up vendors, and your favorite Uptown Westerville restaurants and retail shopping.

Adults can take advantage of Uptown’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, and stroll about with adult beverages sold by several Uptown establishments.

Pockets of special activities dot the entire district for Fourth Friday, and the May 2024 may be the biggest lineup yet. (Brutus Buckeye, the Ohio State University mascot, will make a special appearance at 6 p.m.!)

A selection of highlights for the May 24 festival are listed below – in alphabetic order. But please explore the whole District to catch what you can, and find something new! Be sure to check out full details at the event page on this website.

Arts Alley

Visit Arts Alley, staged by the Arts Council of Westerville, in the parking lot at FUSIAN at 79 S. State St. (SW corner of State and Park streets, across from Dairy Queen).

Arts Alley has free crafts for kids, artists with work on display, and another live music venue. The featured  band May 24 will be Sound Check.

Bike parking at Walnut & State

Pedal to Fourth into the weekend in style! The Fourth Friday Bike Parking event May 24, hosted by LifePoint Real Estate and the Westerville Bike Shop, will set up from 6-9 p.m. at LifePoint, 168 S. State (southeast corner of State and Walnut streets).

Free, secure bike parking will be offered on the lot, supervised as you enjoy Fourth Friday, and a kids bicycle helmets giveaway will be held.

Cyclists should enter the LifePoint parking lot from Walnut Street for easy access.

Concert

Local Celtic band The Drowsy Lads will be the May act in the Newman Roofing Summer Concert Series of 2024, hitting the stage from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in front of Westerville City Hall, 21 S. State St., in a performance sponsored by the Arts Council of Westerville.

​Generations

The dancers of Generations Performing Arts Center,  celebrating the Uptown dance studio’s 25th anniversary year, will perform in front of the studio at 11 W. College Ave.

Generations students from preschool through adult will perform acts from their special 25th Anniversary Recital. Honed through rehearsals over several months, the acts will be a taste of the special recital presented at Westerville Central earlier this month.

Pop-up vendors

109 popup vendors and food trucks will set up all along State Street, including local service organizations, and many product and service vendors.

Of course, Uptown’s resident restaurants and pubs also will offer great dining during the event.

Science Street

Science Street will return to Fourth Friday in 2024 with an expanded presence, on East College Avenue, with its engaging, hands-on, STEM-focused demonstrations and activities.

Westerville scientist Jack Brown will wow the kids with a different Science Street presentation each month. In May, he will conduct experiments involving radiation, testing whether your kitchen plates are radioactive (!), and demonstrating different forms of radiation used at home, in medicine and in industry.

The Green Team of Westerville – consisting of representatives of Otterbein University, Sustainable Westerville, the City of Westerville Electric and Service Divisions and City Council, Rumpke Waste Management, and SWACO – also will present on Science Street.

Teens & Tweens

Teens & Tweens activities will be set up across the district, including two specific areas:

• Hanby Elementary

Sponsored by the Arts Council of Westerville,, Hanby Elementary School, 56 S. State St., will host several engaging activities for young visitors to the Fourth Friday festivals.

Included will be Gaga Ball pits, henna artists, a DJ, and more.

• Rotary Park

A second Teens and Tweens area will set up at Uptown’s Rotary Park — a pocket park located at the southeast corner of State and Home streets, adjacent to the Columbus Running Company, 50 N. State St. Matt Ryan Mobile DJ Entertainment will spin music and emcee games geared for young people at this location.

• Magic

The popular Fourth Friday magician “Magic Nate” also will be back for the May 24 festival. Nate will set up and perform along East Main Street for most of the evening.

Refreshments-DORA

Adult visitors to Fourth Friday may walk the district enjoying alcoholic beverages within the clearly marked boundaries of the Uptown Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area. DORA beverages are served in specially marked, single-use cups.

Uptown merchants may choose to allow DORA beverages onto their premises. Look for the “DORA Welcome” stickers or consult with the merchants to be sure beverages are allowed.

Check out a list of the Uptown establishments offering DORA beverages and a map of the DORA boundaries here.

Westerville BMX

Westerville BMX representatives will set up on Winter Street for this year’s Fourth Fridays, with activities and demonstrations. Be sure to stop by and catch the cool tricks!

Westerville Public Library

As usual, the front lawn of the Westerville Public Library, 126 S. State St., will be a Fourth Friday hub of activity. The featured May activity will be Farm Animals at the Library, where visitors can see, touch and learn about a variety of farm animals, including sheep, goats, ducks, turkeys, rabbits and even “a mini pig.”

Westerville Symphony on Main Street

The Westerville Symphony Orchestra will join the Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Fourth Friday fun in 2024, with a new presence on West Main Street – near David Myers Art Studio & Gallery.

For the May Fourth Friday, a WSO string quartet will play for first half of evening, followed by a harp and flute duet. WSO musicians and students also will open an “Instrument Petting Zoo” for children, allowing kids to check out instruments including violin, viola, cello and bass.

The Symphony on May 24 also will conduct a food drive for WARM and a used instrument drive Westerville City Schools band and orchestras programs. Needed instruments include: flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, percussion kit (bells and drum pad), violin, viola, cello and bass. DROP-OFF POINT: Hanby Elementary, 56 S. State St.

CAPTION (TOP PHOTO): The popular local Celtic band, The Drowsy Lads, headline entertainment at the May 24 Fourth Friday, performing in the City Hall Courtyard from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

BELOW: Newly updated City of Westerville map of the Fourth Friday traffic closures and parking restrictions.