Springtime Tallahassee returns this weekend

    By
    Gina Jordan
    -
    518
    A group of people walking down the street in front of a crowd

    The Springtime Tallahassee festivities are back! Downtown Tallahassee will be filled with food, shopping, and entertainment Friday and Saturday.

    The 2023 Music Festival kicks off the annual celebration Friday night at Kleman Plaza. Country artist Chris Lane is the headliner. He’ll be joined by special guests Walker Montgomery and Temecula Road. The Beer Garden opens at 5:30 p.m. Food vendors will be on hand, and the musical artists take the stage at 6 p.m.

    Saturday features a full day of events ushered in by a sea of walkers and runners. The Springtime Races (10k/5k/1M) start at 7:30 a.m. From 9 to 5, the Jubilee in the Park will offer arts & crafts, boutiques, and food vendors from around the country.

    The Capital City Band of TCC (Tallahassee Community College) will perform at 9:30 a.m. on Park Ave. along Monroe St.

    The big draw will be the 55th annual Grand Parade from 10:30 till noon down Monroe St. It’s one of the largest parades in the Southeast with over 100 floats, marching bands, performers, and more.

    Inclement weather cancelled last year’s parade. The forecast calls for sunshine along with showers and thunderstorms Saturday. Click here for the local forecast.

    Downtown roads will be impacted by festivities Friday and Saturday.

    Here are the closures, provided by Capitol Police:

    • Accommodations will be made for one lane at the Doubletree and one lane at Hotel Duval.

    Music Festival – Friday:

    • Duval St at Madison St – northbound will be blocked completely at 5:30 a.m. to construct the stage for the Music Festival. State Employees will be allowed access to parking garages.
    • Pensacola at Duval will have one lane open for westbound traffic starting at 5:30 a.m.
    • Adams St and Jefferson – westbound will be blocked completely at 9 a.m.

    Springtime 5k/10k and Parade – Saturday:

    • The staging area for parade floats will close at 6:30 a.m. and reopen at the conclusion of the parade (approximately 12:30 p.m.)

    • Franklin Blvd will close for the 5k/10k from Tennessee St to Lafayette St from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. then re-open for traffic diversion from Apalachee Pkwy.

    • Monroe St at 7thAve (southbound blocked completely all the way to Brevard St)

    • Brevard St/Adams St (no eastbound)

    • Brevard St/Calhoun St (no westbound)

    • 3rdAve/Adams St (no eastbound)

    • 4thAve/Adams St (no eastbound)

    • 3rdAve/Thomasville Rd (no westbound)

    • 5thAve/Thomasville Rd (no westbound)

    • Monroe/6thAve (no southbound; eastbound allowed)

    • 5thAve/Adams St (no eastbound)

    The Parade route will close at 9:30 a.m. and reopen at the conclusion of the parade (approximately 12:30 p.m.) – Saturday

    • Monroe St at Georgia/Carolina/Virginia St will be closed for no east or west bound traffic)

    • Monroe St from W. Tennessee to Gaines St will be closed for all traffic including the cross streets of Monroe St from Tennessee St to Gaines St

    • Tennessee St will be closed from Calhoun St to Adams St (no traffic in either direction)

    • Apalachee Parkway/Franklin Ave (no westbound)

    The Jubilee in the Park will close at 6:30 a.m. and remain closed until 6 p.m. – Saturday

    • Duval St from Pensacola St to Park Ave will be closed until 6 p.m.

    • Park Ave (east and west) from Duval St to Monroe St will be closed until 6 p.m.

    • College Ave from Duval St to Monroe St will be closed until 6 p.m.

    • Jefferson St from Adams St to Monroe St will be closed until 6 p.m.

    Electronic Traffic Message Boards will assist with traffic direction.