‘Mellow’ Adams Morgan Day Festival to Return This September

Locals who enjoyed last year’s scaled-down Adams Morgan Day are in for a treat. The street festival will again bring music, food and entertainment to the sidewalks along 18th Street on Sept. 11, organizers have announced.

Though much has yet to be decided about this year’s festival, co-organizer Carol Miller said the event will keep last year’s “mellow” vibe.

“We had probably 10-15,000 people last year. It was very scaled down,” Miller said. “It’s no longer the huge regional festival… and we’re purposefully keeping it that way.”

The festival was temporarily canceled last year amid financial woes but was resurrected by neighbors as a scaled-back version of the annual extravaganza that once drew tens of thousands of people to the neighborhood.

This year, attendees can expect sidewalks packed with artists, games and activities, all centered around Adams Morgan businesses. The event will also bring “a few fun unique surprises,” Miller said, and live music at a to-be-announced outdoor location

“It builds such good trust between the business owners and the community and exposes their businesses to more community members,” Miller said.

Like last year, the festival will no longer close any streets, and will remain “less crowded and crazy” than pre-2015 festivals, Miller said.

Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe is among the Adams Morgan businesses participating in this year’s event.

“We have taken a role in helping plan and program the music on last year’s community driven Admo Day and are doing the same for this year’s event,” said Alisha Edmonson, co-owner of Songbyrd Music House, in an email to Borderstan. “We think the day is a great opportunity to showcase our neighborhood’s great outdoor, public spaces and also drive people to explore our variety of businesses.”

Other Adams Morgan businesses slated to participate this year are Roofers Union, Bedrock Billiards and Grand Central.

Locals interested in volunteering in this year’s Adams Morgan Day are encouraged to attend a planning meeting tomorrow night at Songbyrd (2475-2477 18th St. NW). The meeting begins at 8 p.m.

Photo via Facebook / Adams Morgan Day