{HARRISBURG} — Mayor Wanda R. D. Williams will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 29, at Riverfront Park beside the Walnut Street Bridge to announce plans for the Kipona Festival that will be held August 31-September 2 in Harrisburg Labor Day weekend in Riverfront Park and City Island.
“We are excited to continue our annual end of summer celebration in the city” said Mayor Williams, “This festival serves as a celebration of Native American heritage and the diversity of cultures represented in our community and surrounding regions. There will be free fun for the whole family to enjoy.”
This year will be the 108th anniversary for the festival. There will be several returning attractions such as the Native American Pow Wow, Multicultural Celebration, Art in the Park, Family Fun Zone, live music stage, beer & wine garden, food trucks and more. Art in the Park has grown to over 70 artisans selling their handcrafted wares and the Multicultural Celebration will feature even more bands, dance groups, and free activities, such as calligraphy lessons, Pakistani henna, Congolese hair braiding, a passport game, and more. The UPMC Family Fun Zone will feature free face painting and balloon animals, pay to play carnival games & sand art, and pay to ride giant fun slide and berry-go-round throughout the weekend. There will be free performances and activities on Saturday, a free rock wall & eurobungy on Sunday, and a free Bubble Festival on Monday.
New to the festival this year will be the 3-day Keystone Dock Dogs event where dogs ages six months and older can compete in long jump, vertical jump, and speed retrieve competitions. No experience is required to participate. The event will be held on City Island beside the Walnut Street Bridge. All information on the competitions can be found at https://dockdogs.com/event/kipona-festival-with-keystone-dockdogs/.
Also new to the festival is the inaugural Giant Puppet Parade to be held on Saturday, August 31 at 4:30pm in Riverfront Park. Lead artist Jeff Semmerling created a 15-ft long Harrisburg River Monster and the Imaginary Friends Puppet Theater created a 15-ft tall shark that will both be revealed at the event. Members of the community were encouraged to create their own water themed costumes, giant puppets, decorated wagons, and more to join in the fun. Winners of the best youth, adult, and group costumes will earn a $100 prize courtesy of Coexist Gallery. The parade is a rain or shine event. Follow the Facebook event for any updates to schedule changes in the case of anticipated severe weather.
For the complete event schedule, an event map, foodie guide, and more, check out the event guide posted at https://harrisburgpa.gov/kipona.
Street parking is free on Sunday, September 1 and Monday, September 2 and is free in the Downtown area after 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 31. Before 5 p.m. on Saturday, visitors can get four hours of free street parking in the Downtown area using the code “LUVHBG” in the ParkMobile app. Parking on City Island will be $5. Park Harrisburg will provide $10 special event parking in the Market Square Garage from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. each day of the festival. Standard rates apply at the River Street Garage. Recycle Bicycle will provide free bike parking along the festival route at Front & Walnut Street and Front & Forster Street.
Front Street will be closed between Forster and Walnut Street starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, August 30 until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 2.
Special thanks to all of the festival sponsors that make this event possible:
- Visit Hershey & Harrisburg
- Explore HBG
- UPMC
- Capital BlueCross
- T-Mobile
- Aetna Better Health
- Focal Point Remodeling
- Park Harrisburg
- All of the Community level and Friends of the Festival level sponsors.
