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Made in America Festival set to open Saturday

Published  August 31, 2018 10:17pm EDT
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

FAIRMOUNT (WTXF) - On the eve of the 7th year of Made in America things are lit up, barricades have been put up and sound checks are bringing a different kind of life to the parkway.

The two-day music festival starts at one tomorrow afternoon and Sunday. Gates open at noon. Sarah Wilson is excited.

"I'm looking forward to it honestly," she said. She lives in Fairmount, the neighborhood with an up close and personal experience with the festival.

In years past some neighbors have complained about the crowds, noise and parking restrictions to name a few concerns. Sarah isn't one of them.

"You have plenty of events right down there on the parkway between races and other concerts so I don't think this is any different," she said. New this year though the city says it's trying to comfort neighbors who are concerned.

Officials have set up a hotline for any questions or complaints surrounding the event and an email that they say will be monitored to address community-related incidents. The hotline is 917-732-7501 and will be made available for any questions, concerns, or complaints. The hotline will be staffed from 8 AM - 8 PM beginning Monday, August 27th to Friday, August 31st. During the Festival, the hotline will be staffed during Festival hours on Saturday, September 1st and Sunday, September 2nd. During off hours, messages will be collected, reviewed and processed during business hours. Info@madeinamerica.com will also be monitored to address community-related incidents.

"They're definitely not going to be able to solve the problem within every single call," said Nicholas Jordan. He also lives in Fairmount and says it's a great idea but he's not convinced the hotline will be that effective.

"They're going to be getting blown up so much. I don't think they're really going to be able to pick up on it and make something happen right away," he said. Philadelphia Police have also made a change that affects safety for those attending the event.

"We had some issues with dark areas of the venue that we all pointed out after last year that we improved that this year. We actually set that lighting up and looked at it in the dark. We lit up the dark areas where we had problems," said Deputy Commissioner Dennis Wilson.