Street Closures for 90th Annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Samantha Bonnette, City of NatchitochesPhone: (318) 352-2746Email: sbonnette@natchitochesla.govSTREET CLOSURES FOR 90TH ANNUAL NATCHITOCHES CHRISTMAS FESTIVALNATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches Christmas Festival Committee and City of Natchitoches would like to remind festival goers of the following street closures and safety precautions for the 90th Annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival taking place on Saturday, December 3, 2016. On festival day, the following streets will be open to one-way traffic only: ·         Third Street from Texas Street southbound to Church Street·         Church Street from Third Street westbound to Fifth Street·         Fourth Street from Amulet Street northbound to Texas Street·         Fairgrounds Road from Rapides Drive westbound to Hwy 1 Bypass At 5:00 a.m., the Church Street Bridge will close to all vehicular traffic and barricades will be placed throughout the Natchitoches Historic District to define the gated festival area.  At 5:30 a.m., the gate entrances at Church Street and Williams Avenue will be open and armbands can be purchased at this location. All other entrances will open at 6:30 a.m.  Armbands are required to enter the gated festival area. At 6:00 a.m., the following streets will close to vehicular traffic: ·         Jefferson Street from Amulet Street to Touline Street·         Washington Street from Texas Street to Lafayette Street·         Second Street from Lafayette Street to Touline Street At 10:00 a.m., no public parking will be allowed in the first block of Williams Avenue to East Second Street. This area includes the following streets between Williams Avenue and East Second Street: St. Maurice Lane, Adelaide Street, Sirod Street, Whitfield Drive, St. Clair Avenue, Stephens Avenue, and Henry Avenue. At 11:00 a.m., Second Street from Touline Street  to University Parkway will close to vehicular traffic.   At 12:00 p.m. (noon), University Parkway from Jefferson Street to Second Street will close for parade line up.  All eastbound traffic on University Parkway will be stopped at Boyd Street, and all westbound traffic on Mill Street will be stopped at Airport Road. In addition, the Pine Street/Keyser Avenue Bridge will close at 12:00 p.m. (noon) to all vehicular traffic, and all parade route barricades from University Parkway north to Lafayette Street will go up in preparation for the parade. The parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the corner of University Parkway and Jefferson Street. The parade will move along Jefferson Street to Front Street turning on Lafayette Street and continuing down Second Street to University Parkway. At the conclusion of the parade and when foot traffic allows, Jefferson Street and Second Street from Amulet Street south to University Parkway will reopen for vehicular traffic. The Pine Street/Keyser Avenue Bridge and University Parkway between Boyd and Mill Street will reopen as well. At 4:30 p.m., the Church Street Bridge will close to all foot traffic and Cane River Lake will close 250 feet south of the last Christmas display (near the Santa Claus House) and 250 feet north of the flag set piece for all boat traffic in preparation of the fireworks show.   At 5:00 p.m., barricades will be placed on Williams Avenue north of Henry Avenue to St. Maurice Lane and at the intersections of East Second Street with Stephens Avenue, St. Clair Avenue, Whitfield Drive, Sirod Street, and Adelaide Street. The fireworks show will begin at 6:00 p.m. over Cane River Lake. At the conclusion of the fireworks show and once the all clear has been given by the Fire Department, the Church Street Bridge will reopen to pedestrians and all streets outside of the gated festival area will reopen to vehicular traffic. PLEASE NOTE CORRECTION: Third Street will be one-way northbound from Church Street to Texas Street, and Fourth Street will be one-way southbound from Texas Street to Church Street. Fourth Street from Church Street to Trudeau Street will be closed to traffic from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. For more information or the latest updates on the Natchitoches Christmas Festival, please visit www.NatchitochesChristmas.com.