WILMINGTON — Decided in a unanimous board vote, the Wilmington Riverfest will not return this fall after negotiations resulted in an inadequate location, according to an announcement from Riverfest Board of Directors President Roderick Bell.
The 47-year festival has been hosted on Front Street — typically somewhere between Cape Fear Community College and Market Street — since it moved from its Water Street location. However, earlier this year, the event coordinators were informed they would not be able to host the festival at the usual spot.
Since April, the board of directors have been undergoing negotiations with the city to find a new place but couldn’t make it work in a timely fashion.
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“This is not a step backward — it is a strategic pivot that honors both our community and our vendors,” Bell said in the release. “We are returning in 2027 with a festival that exceeds expectations, rather than compromise the quality and safety our stakeholders deserve.”
Bell did not return a call by press.
However, in early spring Riverfest and the city were parsing through alternative locations along Front Street.
City spokesperson Amy Willis said staff were working to accommodate a new, “workable” location while construction on Front Street Bridge between Hanover and Red Cross streets occurs.
“During that time, the City offered multiple solutions designed to accommodate the elements organizers told us they wanted to include,” Willis explained.
Riverfest posted to social media on Aug. 13 it wanted to host the festival along Front Street, and at first proposed Front Street between Red Cross and Princess streets. The city stated it couldn’t accommodate a footprint on Front Street as a stage could not be permitted in the middle of the street due to fire safety requirements.
Other suggestions included Live Oak Bank Pavilion, though the festival said it would not be able to house the roughly 40,000 attendees, as the venue’s capacity is 7,000.
According to Bell’s press release Wednesday, the least viable — or most “limited” — option was chosen — at Brunswick and Nutt streets and included the Wilson Center parking lot. Bell said in the statement there were issues with limited entry points unsuitable for delivery vehicles for vendors, traffic congestion from competing events at the Wilson Center and the Wilmington Convention Center, and the venue being gridlocked by still-operational major intersections.
However, the city learned on Aug. 17 a Wilson Center event rendered the parking lot unusable. As a result, staff worked on a different solution; Riverfest submitted another plan with a similar set up, but excluded the Wilson Center parking lot. They received conditional approval Aug. 31.
In response, Bell stated it was too late to properly plan the festival; he explained in the release a location had to be chosen by July 1 at the latest.
Willis said this deadline was new to the city.
“For more than four months, right up until this week, the City has continued to work in good faith to find solutions as the festival’s needs and available spaces changed,” Willis wrote in an email. “At no point during those conversations were City staff told that a final decision was required by July or that the 2026 festival was at risk of cancellation if that deadline was not met.”
Vendors, sponsors and community partners for the 2026 event will receive a full refund for their commitment to the festival, but they will also receive priority booking for the 2027 festival. As negotiations and planning continues for 2027, Riverfest said it will provide quarterly updates on where the event will be held, but the announcement also encouraged people to reach out to city leadership to give input.
Riverfest officials first asked the public what it wanted to see in the festival location and invited responses on Aug. 13 after announcing a place downtown could not be decided upon. It noted a petition was circulating to move events like Riverfest and the N.C. Azalea Festival off of Front Street altogether as well, as businesses have complained of it negatively impacting sales.
Furthermore, Bell added: “When we asked about why other festivals are currently able to operate along Front Street, we were told because they have existing Memorandums of Understanding with the City. Although we understand that those arrangements may be evaluated differently beginning in 2027.”
Port City Daily asked the city about the memorandum of understanding and details regarding it but did not receive a response.
However, the city said it will continue negotiations for the 2027 Riverfest when “the unusual space constraints affecting this year’s event will no longer be an issue.”
“We were disappointed to learn that this year’s Riverfest will not move forward,” Willis said. “The City had been working closely with organizers to support this year’s event, and we look forward to continuing that partnership as we plan for a successful event in 2027.”
[Ed. note: This has been updated to reflect the city’s response of the location change due to construction taking place on Front Street Bridge between Hanover and Red Cross streets.]
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