Music News & Reviews
Lexington, Rupp officials offer tips to ease congestion during Garth Brooks weekend
You have your Garth Brooks tickets and your boots, but do you have a plan?
Lexington does. And the good news is the city has given you plenty of things to do while you are killing time.
■ With 80,000 fans all coming downtown in a span of roughly 30 hours, Rupp Arena management and VisitLex have advised fans to come early and stay late to make traffic and parking easier.
■ Bring cash so you can park and ride LexTran buses with no hassle.
■ Remember, even though it's Halloween, no costumes are allowed in Rupp.
■ If you're coming for a 6:30 p.m. show, the Rupp folks suggest you park in the lots on High and Manchester streets for $15 (cash only.)
■ If you're coming for a 10:30 p.m. show, they suggest you park in an auxiliary lot at Old Frankfort Pike and New Circle Road, which will open at 7 p.m., for $10 (cash only; proceeds benefit Lions Club).
LexTran buses will run people from the lot to Heritage Hall and back for $2 round trip (cash only.) Buses will run for one hour after the end of the second show.
■ At Heritage Hall, there will be free live music both Friday and Saturday nights, from 4:30 to 11:30 p.m. Food and beer will be sold.
■ At Cheapside Pavilion, there will be music, and craft beer for purchase. Surrounding restaurants in the Cheapside Entertainment District will have extended hours, so you can get a bite to eat either before or after most shows.
■ Get updates on parking, traffic, the festival and more by texting "Garth" to 82945. You will also be entered to win backstage passes to the show. More information is online at Rupparena.com/garth and Visitlex.com.
■ There will be an increased police presence downtown, and enhanced traffic control around Rupp Arena and at the Forbes Road-Old Frankfort Pike intersection for shuttles.
■ For everybody else working downtown but not going to the Garth Brooks concerts or engaging in other activities downtown, the good news for you is that the city suggests you leave work by 5 p.m. to ease rush-hour traffic on Friday.
So now you have a great excuse to leave work a bit early on Halloween.
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