Fall is knockin’ on the door – better get outside while the gettin’s good. What better place to do that than the Downtown Street Fair in Grand Forks on August 23 and 24, 2024?

Thank you to the DDA’s Svea Benefield for all sorts of great information:

What is the schedule of events?

Food/street vendor hours on Friday are 11am-8pm and on Saturday are 9am-6pm. We have over 15 awesome food vendors to enjoy and over 100 vendors total that include artists, crafters, and kidpreneurs sponsored by the Center for Innovation and ND Small Business Development Centers 

The Town Square activity schedule on Friday includes 11:30am – OWL Rock Band Performance, 2-6pm – WEAREONE DJ Collective, 4:30pm – Ruffing It Barkery Puppy Parade, 7-10pm – Town Square DJ Night featuring hits by Zach Bryan (Plus chance to win suite tickets to one of the concerts!) Saturday is all day Town Square Farmer’s Market. There will be a “I 💚 UND” photo op in Town Square all weekend!

Arts in the Alley activities will be in the Alley of Love (near Rhombus) and in Pillsbury Park! Alley activities on Friday are a surprise Art Activation (all day), 9am – Chalk Art with Katie Lee, and live music from 2-5pm. Alley Activities on Saturday include Sustainable Art with GRO.UND Learning Gardens and live music from 2-5pm. Pillsbury Park activities on Friday include 11am – Storytime with Campbell Library and live music from 2pm-5pm. Pillsbury Park on Saturday includes 9am-6pm – Soil Mates Demo with Joy Grows Flower Farm, a Tissue Paper Stained Glass Art Demo, and live music 2pm-5pm. 

Fair Adventures on 4th activities are on 4th street! Friday we will have professional jugglers, stilt walkers, and hula hoopers all day throughout the day with some breaks. Saturday we will have 10am – Free yoga class with Lotus Yoga and from 1-3pm: Aerial silk performances and interactive opportunities! BOTH days there will be the GF Children’s Museum – Imagination Playground, a full Pickleball Court by Grand Cities Pickleball Club, and Bluepeak’s Puppy Pit Stop.

What are you most excited about?

We are most excited to host the largest street fair yet! It’s such a perfect event to kick off the end of summer, host the community, and welcome new and returning students! But if we had to pick one part that we’re most excited to see it’s the stilt walker and juggling performers that will be on 4th Street!

What is your advice for a first-timer?

Bring some cash! Some food vendors are cash only so it helps to have some on hand vs finding an ATM. 

Park in the Central or Corporate center ramps or in the Riverboat Rd parking lot! The ramps are free after 5pm and free for up to 2 hours. The Riverboat Rd parking lot is free all day! All of these places are centrally located so makes parking easier! More parking info can be found at downtownforks.com/park-downtown

Check out the official vendor map and activity schedule which the DDA will have on downtownstreetfair.com! This way you can see which vendors you want to hit up and when all the fun activities are happening! It can be a lot to take in at once so having a map is so helpful! 

How many years have you been putting on the street fair?

This year marks the 9th annual Downtown Street Fair!

Is there anything else we should know?

The DDA would not be able to host this exciting free event without the generous support of our sponsors. They allow us to plan these community events and make these all-ages experiences possible! 

Check out the DDA’s social media for activity highlights, event details, and more! Plus give us a follow if you want to learn about all the fun downtown happenings! @downtownforks 

Have fun!