Full Notification

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The 56th Annual East Lansing Art Festival (ELAF) will bring 178 artists and tens of thousands of visitors to downtown East Lansing over the weekend of May 18-19. Festival hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday, May 19. To accommodate the festival, there will be a number of street and parking lot closures in the downtown from Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19.

Parking Lot & Plaza Closures
Closing at 2 a.m. on Friday, May 17 and re-opening on Sunday, May 19 at 10 p.m.:

• City Hall West Lot, 415 Abbot Road
• Bailey Parking Lot, 139 Bailey Street

Closing at 6 a.m. on Friday, May 17 and re-opening on Sunday, May 19 at 10 p.m.:

• Ann Street Plaza (northwest corner of Albert & M.A.C. avenues)
• Fountain Square (northeast corner of Albert & M.A.C. avenues)

Street Closures
Closing at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17 and re-opening on Sunday, May 19 at 10 p.m.:

• Albert Avenue, from Grove Street to Bailey Street
• M.A.C. Avenue, from Grand River Avenue to the driveway entrance of the East Lansing Marriott at University Place

Getting To the Festival
The festival can be accessed by vehicle, bus, bike and foot. For those planning to travel to the festival by bike, free bike valet parking will be graciously provided by the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council adjacent to the Albert-Charles intersection. If traveling to the festival by vehicle, there will be $5 flat rate parking available in the Charles Street Garage, 121 Charles St., and Division Street Garage, 181 Division St. Both of these garages will only be accessible from Grand River Avenue. They are located adjacent to the festival site and parking ambassadors will be stationed at them, making entering and exiting quick and easy. Additional downtown parking locations can be viewed here: https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/335/Parking-Locations. Festival goers should note that, in addition to street and lot closures for the festival, the eastbound lane of Albert Avenue, between Abbot Road and Grove Street, will be closed due to construction. The Grove Street Garage, 330 Grove Street, can still be accessed by taking Abbot Road to Linden Street to Grove Street.

For those interested in traveling to the festival by bus, Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) will be offering the ELAF Bus Route from 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 and 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 19. Festival goers can park at MSU’s Commuter Lot #89 on Farm Lane and Mount Hope Road and catch the shuttle. Buses will run approximately every 10-15 minutes between the parking lot and stops along Grand River Avenue (adjacent to the festival site). Round trip fare is 50 cents and children under 42 inches ride free with an adult. Transfers to other buses may be made at bus stops along the route. For those who would prefer to leave their vehicle at home, Routes 1, 20-26 travel to East Lansing during the festival for a convenient and affordable transportation option. Regular fares apply on these routes. Schedules are available at https://cata.org. All CATA buses have bike racks and wheelchair ramps/lifts for accessibility. Service animals are welcome. For more information, contact CATA at [email protected] or (517) 394-1000. CATA is a proud sponsor of the ELAF.

Community members can learn more about the festival at www.elartfest.com.