Ryan Cormier

The News Journal

After seeing its downtown Wilmington summertime crowds more than double year after year, the Ladybug Music Festival itself will double in size this July, organizers have revealed to The News Journal.

The exclusively female-fronted free music festival, which began in 2012 with 300 music fans and grew to 7,000 last summer, will be held across two days for the first time, closing portions of North Market Street on July 20 and 21.

Not only will the large main stage return to Market Street between Third and Fourth streets for a Thursday evening celebration of women musicians in the city's LOMA district, but Ladybug has also partnered with The Grand for a second night, which will be held on Market in front of the venerable 19th century music hall.

More than 60 acts -- none of which have been announced yet – will flood downtown and Friday's expansion will include more than just live music. It will also incorporate dance troupes and art. Live on-site painting sessions will be held for festivalgoers – and some of their work will end up hanging on walls during the city's monthly art loop.

"It's a prime opportunity for the city to reinvent itself through entertainment, music, art and dining destinations," says Gayle Dillman, co-founder of Gable Music Ventures, the Wilmington-based concert production and event planning company, which will once again put on the sixth annual festival. "We really believe by expanding to a second day and including installation art and dancing along with music and food, we'll attract a wider variety of people who will then come back into Wilmington and experience the city."

Jeremy Hebbel, who founded Gable with Dillman in 2011, adds that this year's Ladybug expansion might just be the first step: "Eventually, we'd like this to be a city-wide event spanning four days, Thursday through Sunday."

The extension of the festival to include Friday night will mean the 800 block of North Market Street will be closed in the late afternoon and evening. And while art and dance will be added, fans should still expect plenty of live music on a smaller main stage and in local businesses, including the baby grand. About 25 acts are expected on Ladybug's first-ever Friday.

"It will look and feel different," Dillman says.

As part of its partnership with Ladybug, The Grand is currently in the process of attempting to book a high-profile national female act to perform at the 1,200-person concert venue on that Friday night.

With more than 300 artist submissions for this year's festival, Dillman and Hebbel are beginning to narrow down the list of acts, which could end up being as large as 75 this year, topping last year's record number of 55. (Submissions will be accepted through April 15 via theladybugfestival.com. There is a $10 application fee.)

Since the festival is free for all, it is funded in large part by sponsors, which include the owners of 2nd & LOMA, a mixed-use retail and residential property at Second and Market streets, the Kenny Family ShopRites of Delaware and The Buccini/Pollin Group. A new major sponsor may soon be added, officials say.

With no admission price and the open city's streets as a festival site, exact attendance figures are not available, but officials with the non-profit city business group Downtown Visions, a sponsor of the festival, conducted a crowd count with the help of Wilmington police and put the figure around 7,000.

Will Minster, director of business development for Downtown Visions, says the group has purchased pedestrian counters with motion sensors to determine a more precise figure for this year's event.

He says Ladybug has grown into the most business-friendly downtown event, even more than the Rodney Square-centered Clifford Brown Jazz Festival and the annual weekend Wilmington Grand Prix bike race. Not only are there performances on the main Market Street stage, but about a dozen businesses also host acts. The result has been music fans popping into shops they have never been in before.

"They really get to see what they have to offer," Minster says of the festival, which was created in 2012 to piggyback on the debut of Dover's Firefly Music Festival. "It's a grand opportunity."

LOMA Coffee, located at Third and North Market Street, normally closes at 5 p.m. on weekdays, but not when Ladybug is in town.

"We go from not being open to doing almost two days worth of business," says LOMA Coffee general manager Ben Cordova, who has kept his business open late on the Thursday of Ladybug for five years. "And more important than the business is the community that it makes."

Music festivals that exclusively host female acts are nothing new, but it is rare. Lilith Fair, which was co-founded in 1997 by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, is the most famous example with everyone from Sheryl Crow and Tracy Chapman to Jewel and Fiona Apple having played it.

Last spring, New York hosted its first all female fest, The Other Festival. And later this year, the annual Essence Festival will go all female for one of its nights for the first time with acts such as Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Jill Scott and Jazmine Sullivan.

"We just love it. And we hope Delaware Tourism Office and others jump on the bandwagon and help spread the word about it," Minster adds. "The festival could be a regional destination because it is truly unique."

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

What: Sixth annual Ladybug Music Festival

When and where: Thursday July 20 (N. Market Street between Third and Fourth streets) and Friday, July 21 (N. Market Street in front of The Grand near Eight Street)

Cost: Free

Information: theladybugfestival.com