The Old Bowie Celebrates Festival is back this year with a cool international twist, featuring live music, food from local and international vendors, and fun activities for everyone. Even though last year’s festival got canceled because of Hurricane Ian, organizers are pumped to make this year’s event a hit!
Here are the highlights:
- The Old Bowie Celebrates Festival is set to return on October 1 from 11am to 5pm.
- This year features a merger with Bowie's International Festival to enhance offerings.
- The festival includes live music, dance performances, local and international food, arts, crafts, and activities for children.
- The event was previously known as the Old Bowie Fall Festival, which ran for a decade before ending in 2016.
- The festival was successfully rebranded and debuted in September 2022 with a turnout of around 500 residents.
- Parking is available at Rockledge Elementary School with shuttle service to the festival.
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Old Bowie Festival Returns with International Twist
UPDATE: The event was canceled due to Hurricane Ian. Event organizers are excited to try again next year.
The Old Bowie Celebrates Festival returns to Huntington on Saturday, October 1 from 11am to 5pm. This is the second year for the public gathering, organized with city and volunteer efforts.
The celebration, which spans 12th and Chestnut Ave. to 9th and Maple Ave., features live music and dance over three stages, a wide variety of local and, this year, international food, as well as arts, crafts, and kid-friendly activities.
The Old Bowie Fall Festival ran for a decade before ending in 2016 when longtime organizers moved to Riverdale. In 2019, the burgeoning Old Bowie Arts and Entertainment District Committee moved to restart the gathering with financial and staff support from the city.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in multiple postponements, but organizers didn't give up, using the added time to come up with additional attractions and fine-tune plans.
The rebranded Old Bowie Celebrates Festival debuted in September, 2022 with higher than expected turnout. An estimated 500 residents attended, patronizing over 30 food, arts, and craft vendors. The success assured the continuation of the festival in 2022.
One change this year will be a merger with Bowie's International Festival, normally slated for Allen Pond Park in late September. City events staff pushed for the merger hoping to increase the number of food and performance offerings in Old Bowie while giving International Festival performers and vendors added participants.
Festival parking is available at Rockledge Elementary School off Rt. 197 with a shuttle to and from the festival. Details are available at www.OldBowieCelebrates.us.