Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse explains the details of the city’s Kipona festival during a press conference today.
Are you a fan of the pow-wow, the chili cook-off, the fireworks, the canoe races, the music, the food and craft vendors?
Then you’re in luck, as Kipona will take place as usual over the Labor Day weekend, with just a few changes to the annual three-day festival, the city said today.
In perhaps the greatest change, most activities will be located on City Island, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Riverfront Park near the Walnut Street Bridge will be reserved for food and vendor booths, though some booths also will be located on City Island. Fireworks will go off Sunday night at dusk.
“Everything we’ve done with Kipona, we’re doing,” said Papenfuse, of the Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 festival. “We’re only tweaking the location of events.”
Notably, 1,200 parking spaces on City Island will be free on Saturday, as will spaces in the River Street parking garage. Parking will be free on all city streets on Sunday and Monday. Bike taxis will be free of charge for transportation over the Walnut Street Bridge connecting the two festival locations.
The footprint of the festival will shrink, which will help keep down the cost, Papenfuse said. Front Street will be closed for just one block, from Locust to Walnut streets, on Saturday and Monday. On Sunday, the closure of Front Street will extend to Forster Street to accommodate the large crowds expected for the fireworks.
The city will pony up $37,500 for Kipona, of which $20,000 will pay for the fireworks, said Papenfuse. Moreover, the city continues to seek sponsors for the event to further offset costs. In past years, Harrisburg’s main three summer festivals cost the city “in excess of $100,000” each, said Papenfuse.
City Council will be asked to approve the expense for Kipona once it returns from its summer hiatus in late August, said Papenfuse. He added that, in prior administrations, the cost of festivals was “off-budget,” but that, going forward, the cost would be included as part of the normal budgeting process.
During today’s press conference, Papenfuse repeatedly took issue with recent media reports on Kipona, which he characterized as incomplete, wrong and purposely inflammatory. Some media outlets, for instance, reported that Kipona would be held exclusively on City Island.
