Uptown Columbus bringing food truck festival, Friday night concerts

Uptown Columbus is promising a fun spring.

There will be food trucks, kayaking, paddling and cycling competitions, concerts, running and more.

It all begins with the St. Patrick’s Day Festival Saturday, which will shut down the 1000 block of Broadway from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Scruffy Murphy’s Irish Pub & Eatery is sponsoring the free event along with PMB Broadcasting, which will start with radio personality Damon Free on stage with Irish music and the Celtic Traditions Irish Dancers.

St. Baldrick’s head shavings for childhood cancer will be at 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

There will be the Big Dog Fleet St. Paddy’s 5K race at 6:30 p.m.

There will be a lot of music beginning at 3 p.m. Bands playing include Wolf & Clover at 5 p.m. and The Ragbirds at 7 p.m.

The Spring Food Truck Festival is March 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and costs $5. It will be held at Woodruff Park and the Dillingham Street.

More than 20 food trucks from around the South will be in attendance. There will be music and a craft beer garden.

Among the trucks scheduled to come are The Filipino Food Truck, Chazito’s Latin Cuisine, Peace of Pita, Gekko Sushi and the Royal Pig Pub.

The Friday night concert series begins April 6 with Departure, a Journey tribute band.

On April 13 Lloyd Buchanan & Cubed Roots will perform, on April 20 it will be River City Horns: Rhythm, Blues & Soul and on April 27 will be Peggy Jenkins & The Bizness.

Four more acts will come in May beginning with the Ultimate Garth Brooks Tribute Band on May 4. Mike Jerel & the Chemistry Project is coming May 11. Two tribute bands will close out the concert series. On May 18 will be the Jain Hand Band: Allman Brothers Tribute Band and on May 25 will be Slippery When Wet: Bon Jovi Tribute Band.

The Art is For Everyone & Strut the Hooch Parade will be 9 a.m. - noon on April 7.

Big competitions are coming to town.

On April 14 &15 the free Paddle South Freestyle Kayak Competition will be held at RiverWalk Island.

On May 4, the free Riverfest & World Paddleboard Championship with a concert at Woodruff Park will be held.

On June 2 and 3, the free UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup will be held.

Of course, Market Days On Broadway will be each Saturday.

This story was originally published March 13, 2018 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Uptown Columbus bringing food truck festival, Friday night concerts."