Franklin Square Park has been the perfect venue for several Southport events, but the park’s recent and temporary closure means changes for those events this year.
Downtown Southport, Inc. has hosted the city’s summer markets since 2007 at Garrison Lawn and, most recently, Franklin Square Park. The nonprofit has also hosted the city’s spring and Winterfest festivals there. The park closed late last year after the city received a report from Bartlett Tree Experts concluding that some trees in the park needed to be removed and others needed to be assessed.
According to Peggy Popelars with DSI, the decision was made to suspend the outdoor festivals and markets for 2024 after the nonprofit was unable to find an adequate venue space with Franklin Square Park closed to the public.
“We were unable to find a site that could accommodate the number of vendors that had already been accepted to participate, adequate vendor loading and unloading space, adequate parking, water requirement for food vendors, and electrical power,” Popelars said. “DSI is hopeful that after more extensive evaluation and corrective actions have been completed, the city will again allow events to take place in Franklin Square Park.”