‘Street Fest’ takes over part of downtown this weekend

The El Paso Downtown Street Festival takes over this weekend in and around the Convention Center this weekend.

Instead of baring the the hot summer temperatures, music fans will be able to enjoy the cool October evenings as they rock out to all genres of music.

Veronica Hernandez, live events manager for Townsquare Media, said it was just too hot to keep the festival in the summer.

The footprint of the festival will also change this year, the main stage has been relocated to San Antonio Avenue from Santa Fe Street.

Hernandez said the installation of overhead cables for the El Paso Streetcar would not allow organizers to build the main stage on Santa Fe.

To ensure the family friendly event maintains a safe atmosphere, Hernandez said there will be plenty of security.

“There will be (metal detector) wanding and bag checking, per normal for our festivals, just to ensure that we’re checking everybody,” Hernandez said.

Townsquare Media follows the City of El Paso’s safety plan for large-scale events.

There will be five live music stages.

On Friday, the Bud Light Main Stage will feature Dennis DeYoung: The Music of Styx, Jefferson Starship and Mark Farner’s American Band.

On Saturday, Jonathon Davis of Korn, September Mourning, Shim Moore and Dead Girls Academy will perform.

New to the festival this year is the U.S.O. Military Village that will have static and interactive displays from the United States Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy.

The U.S.O. Stage will feature live family-friendly performances.

Hundreds of custom cars, trucks and motorcycles will be displayed inside the convention center.

It will be a busy weekend in El Paso as UTEP also hosts its homecoming game at the Sun Bowl stadium.

“We do think there’s plenty of attendees for both areas and that we’ll see a little bit of crossover. Anyone that wants to come over after the game, we’ll still be there until midnight,” Hernandez said.

The gates open at 4 p.m. and attendees can enter the festival at two entrances located at Main Street and Santa Fe (Northeast Entrance) and San Antonio and Durango Bridge (Southwest Entrance).

The first 1,000 guests each day will receive a special gift from Teachers Federal Credit Union.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $65 for VIP. Ticket prices will increase at the door.