FLINT, MI — The ninth annual Flint Alley Fest will bring a day full of music, food, drinks and fun to downtown Flint on Saturday, July 13.

“It’s a fantastic example of a lot of local everything -- local food, Flint City Hard Cider, local beer, local music, local fashion and local businesses,” said Friends of the Alley Board Member Emily Doerr. “It’s definitely just a fantastic, diverse mix of a lot of the really great things that are happening in Flint.”

The festival kicks off at 3 p.m. and will go until 10 p.m., with musical entertainment beginning at 4 p.m. More than 12 bands and musical performances will be featured on three different large stages— two in Buckham Alley and one on Saginaw Street, in addition to one smaller acoustic stage in Brush Park.

Saginaw Street will be closed between First and Second streets for the festival.

All musicians and performers are local, with the exception of the Night Beast, a band from Dayton, Ohio a rock party-band that Doerr said has a similar sound to the local acts.

“The goal is to be able to bring an event to downtown that is free for everybody and very inclusive of different types of music,” Doerr said.

The acoustic stage in Brush Park is deliberately family friendly, Doerr said. She encourages families to bring blankets and enjoy the laid-back music, which will end at 8 p.m. There will be an animal rescue agency in the park as well for kids to play with animals.

Unlike past years of the Alley Fest, the festival area will be fenced off with three different entry points and IDs will be checked. That way, attendees who wish to drink can get a wristband and will be able to carry their drinks freely around the festival, whereas in previous years alcoholic drinks had to stay in the bars and their patios.

In addition to music, attendees can enjoy food trucks, drinks, local artists and vendors. The Mott Community College Culinary Arts Building will be open during the festival and giving tours of its facilities from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The bars and eateries in Buckham Alley also get involved in the event. 501 Bar and Grill, Raspberries Rhythm Bar and Grill, The Loft, The Torch Bar and Grill and others will set up back patio seating areas just for this day.

“(Flint Alley Fest) is very much a reflection of local talent and local entrepreneurs,” Doerr said. “We just have so many talented, really cool people that will be there and will be on display.”

Other festival highlights are two fashion shows put on by Kala Wilburn of clothing company Fannie Lucille, and six other local designers at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the Saginaw Street stage and catwalk.

The first Flint Alley Fest, hosted by the non-profit Friends of the Alley and originally called the Buckham Alley Fest, first took place in 2011. It’s grown every year and in 2018, it expanded from Buckham Alley to Brush Alley and Saginaw Street.

All funds raised from the festival are used by Friend of the Alley for putting on future events and the beautification of Buckham Alley and Brush Alley, Doerr said.

For more information about the festival and to see the full music lineup, visit friendsofthealley.org.