ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Artstreet is back in Northeast Wisconsin, but for the first time in it’s 40 year history, it’s not in downtown Green Bay.
So far, organizers have heard mixed reviews about the new location in Ashwaubomay Park.
As Artstreet officials and visitors alike begin to call Ashwaubomay Park home, there’s a debate over if this is a long-term home for event.
Lynn Thill comes to Artstreet every year from Oshkosh.
“I actually love the location,” Thill said.
She likes how easy it is to get around to different vendors, but not everything is perfect.
“We’ve noticed there’s quite a few less vendors this year,” said Thill. “So, we would hope that the number of vendors would pick up.”
Even for officials, moving the event to a brand new location has been far from easy.
Marketing and Special Events Coordinator Molly Carey says many like the new location because they’re able to bring their dogs, and the park offers more space as opposed to downtown Green Bay.
“It’s been a little bit of a challenge just getting everything into the right place,” Carey said
But closed streets due to construction in Green Bay, combined with congestion of people, ultimately led to the move.
“It was bringing in closer and closer, Well, that limits our amount of space,” said Carey, “and we have certain streets people don’t like because it’s windy.”
It means there’s a good chance this isn’t the last time Artstreet will be in Ashwaubomay Park.
“The goal is to keep it here only for the fact that construction is still going to happen downtown,” Carey said. “Washington Street has residential area, so we can’t use that — it can’t be shut down. Well, what if there’s more residential area that’s built down there? Then we can’t use those streets.”
And that’s music to Thill’s ears.
“I would actually like to see it at this location again,” Thill said. “Yeah, I really like it.”
Artstreet continues through Sunday.
Comments