Street closings for this weekend’s N.C. Potato Festival got underway on Tuesday near Waterfront Park and Museum of the Albemarle as Elizabeth City officials begin gearing up for the annual event that brings 40,000 people to the city waterfront over three days.
Water Street between Shepard and Ehringhaus streets was closed, as was Ehringhaus’ right eastbound lane between Water and McMorrine streets. Waterfront Park and the park’s boat ramp also were closed.
More closings continue on Thursday as all of Ehringhaus from McMorrine to Water streets will be blocked starting at 10 a.m. Water Street from Ehringhaus to Church Street also will be closed. Mariners’ Wharf Park will also be closed. The parking lot at Mariners’ Wharf will be blocked at 11 a.m.
On Friday, starting at 10 a.m., motorists who use Water Street to access Elizabeth Street will need to find another route as Water will be closed between Church Street and Colonial Avenue. The southbound lane of Water between Elizabeth and Colonial also will be closed.
Main Street between McMorrine and Water, and their connector streets, also will be closed Friday morning. Main between McMorrine and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and intersecting streets will be closed Saturday starting at 7 a.m.
In a press release Wednesday, Elizabeth City Downtown Director Debbie Malenfant apologized for the inconvenience the road closings will cause. She noted that the closings may affect downtown businesses and residents in particular.
“We know the closings aren’t always convenient, and we apologize for this temporary inconvenience,” she said. “We thank you for your patience and assure you the roads will be back open as quickly as possible after the post-event cleanup. Downtown streets should be open by midnight on Sunday evening; streets near the museum should be open by dawn on Monday morning.”
She said the festival is expected to be a “fun-filled event with something for everyone.”
Besides rides and games, the event will feature live entertainment, the annual N.C. Potato Peeling Contest, free French fries, food vendors, the annual Little Miss Tater Tot contest, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue demonstrations on the Pasquotank River, tours of a docked U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the Sentara Health mobile mammogram unit and a Nightingale flyover, kids games and activities, a cornhole tournament and beer/wine gardens and antique tractors.
For more information about the festival, visit www.ncpotatofestival.com or visit its Facebook page at North Carolina Potato Festival.
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