After 16 years at Long's Park, the BigI 105 Turkey Hill Fallfest will have a new home on Sunday at the Overlook Community Campus, located between Fruitville and Lititz pikes.
More than 40,000 people are expected to attend the free, day-long show featuring country stars Bucky Covington and Jo Dee Messina, among others.
Will the change to a new venue go smoothly?
If Bob Adams, who is overseeing the event, has anything to do with it, the answer will be yes.
"We definitely know that change isn't easy," says Adams, the general manager in Central Pennsylvania of Citadel Broadcasting, which owns and operates Fallfest's sponsor, WIOV Big I 105. "So we have gone above and beyond with planning to make sure it's as hassle-free as possible. I am very confident in the plans we have."
That includes more shuttlebus stops than ever before and 18-foot-wide video screens so everyone can see the show in the large concert area at Overlook, which Adams notes is larger than three football fields.
"The nice thing about Overlook is that it is such an expansive place and it's got flexibility," he says. "We can put the stage where we want to, we can put the vendors where we want. It's like designing the event on a blank piece of paper, rather than having to work around the amphitheater."
The golf course will be open Sunday, but concertgoers will not be allowed to use the Lititz Pike entrance. And the Delp Road entrance will be for the shuttle buses.
"Only the Fruitville Pike entrance will be open for cars," Adams explains, adding "They have plans to park cars in every nook and cranny of the facility."
But Adams says organizers are hoping many will choose to take the free shuttlebus service, which he says has increased 50 percent from last year.
"They will be continually running," Adams explains. "At peak times, we may have 12 buses running simultaneously."
Shuttle sites will be at Burle Industries, off New Holland Avenue near the Route 30 exit; the Manheim Township High School and Middle School off Lititz Pike; Hamilton Precision Metal Work at 1780 Rohrerstown Road and the United Postal Service complex between Rohrerstown and Enterprise roads.
The gates outside the park open at 7 Sunday morning and the gates to the concert open at 8 a.m.
The show itself will begin at noon, with an appearance by Coral Consylman, 12, of Lancaster, the winner of the 2008 Kidz Idol contest.
From there, the lineup will include Jeremy McComb, Adam Gregory, Heidi Newfield, American Idol contestant Bucky Covington and then the headliner, Jo Dee Messina, who has had nine Number One singles on the Billboard country charts since 1996.
The concert will end at about 7 p.m.
As far as the food vendors go, Adams says there won't be too many changes.
"We are trying to stay with the same people who've done Long's Park in the past," he says. "But we've also got the restaurant, Barneys Grill. They'll be serving food and there will be a beer garden up near the restaurant. You will still be able to see and hear the show from there."
Adams isn't too worried about the traffic flow around Overlook during the day Sunday.
"One of the nice things about this event is there is no one time when people arrive. There might be someone who comes just to see Bucky Covington, or someone who comes for the whole event," Adams says. "So there's a constant flow of people coming and going."
While all events are free, tickets will be required to gain entrance. They can be picked up at any Turkey Hill store.
For more details about Fallfest, including directions, parking information, schedules and more, go to
www.wiov.com.
Staff writer Jane Holahan can be reached at jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016.
(765)
