The first ever BridgeFest is happening over two evenings this August in Oil City!
The event on Friday, August 17, will be hosted by the Oil City Arts Council on Veterans Memorial Bridge. From 4 to 10 p.m. Dead Level and The Probables will perform, and there will also be food vendors, art vendors, and children’s activities.
The Oil City Main Street Program will host the second day of BridgeFest on Saturday, August 18, on Center Street Bridge, with a DJ and games.
This article was published in the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce’s July 2018 edition of the VenangoWorks! Newsletter.
I haven’t seen any flyers being circulated on this event. Do you know if there is one? I would like to have a copy if there is.
Loni,
This event is organized by Oil City Main Street and Kay Woods. There are posters around town but here’s a link to the Facebook event.
https://m.facebook.com/events/2124452147770194
Why isn’t something like this taking place on Seneca Street just like Oil Heritage Festival? This is going to tie up the whole city with traffic. Not so smart taking a major artery and close it to traffic on the busiest driving day of the week. Someone didn’t think this through at all.
This event is not coordinated by the Chamber but I believe that the organizer was inspired by a Festival in another much larger city that closed a bridge and had similar activities, and was also motivated by the success of the celebration at last year’s Center Street bridge.
This will most definitely cause some inconvenience for some travelers, but all road closings do, including those held on Seneca St., and during similar events in Oil City and surrounding communities. We understand that the organizers of Bridgefest have worked with local officials to coordinate traffic control and they are making every effort to inform people who may want to plan alternate routes. Typically, any such closing must allow for access in the event of an emergency and I am certain this is no exception, but if you continue to have concerns, I would encourage you to directly contact Kay Woods (event coordinator) or the Oil City police.
Susan Williams
Venango Chamber President