Rain not (gasp!) in weekend forecasts for Huntsville’s 42nd Panoply Arts Festival

HUNTSVILLE – The Rain Dance, a long held Native American ceremony, involves much fanfare. There’s the feathers, turquoise, trinkets and body paintings reflecting tribal standards. That’s just for the men, the women are fully clothed except for bare feet.

The Reverse Rain Dance, apparently, has no ethnic history or tradition. However, an Internet check shows there are many GIFs and memes dedicated to the subject. It seems people can just twirl, whirl, pirouette, gyrate and shake things and call it a Reverse Rain Dance.  

Let’s skip all of that and simply hope it doesn’t rain at the 42nd Panoply Arts Festival this weekend at Big Spring Park.

The event has earned a significant reputation for its arts, music and food and beverage scene that collides with science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

It’s also infamous for rain, which has often accompanied Panoply during its four-decades plus life span. Even Allison Dillon-Jauken seamlessly worked in a joke during a news conference to introduce the 2024 Festival, which is presented by Mazda Toyota Manufacturing.

“A team from NASA will be out there to join us on STEAM Street along with meteorologists from the National Weather Service, who will be there to talk about the amazing atmospheric conditions that have provided us with a precipitation-free Panoply,” she said in March.

Currently, the NWS forecast calls for a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m. prior to the festival starting at 5 p.m. Clouds and rain will then mix with mild temperatures around 80 during the three-days and lows overnight pegged at 64 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

This year the festival will again span across Church Street and into Big Spring Park East.

• Tickets, Festival Entrances and Services: Arts Huntsville is offering a Panoply weekend pass available online in advance for $20. The pass provides an affordable way to enjoy Panoply’s diverse entertainment all weekend. Weekend passes are only available until 4 p.m. Friday. Day passes are $15 and can be purchased in advance online and at the festival ticket booths, presented by Redstone Federal Credit Union. Children 12 and under are free of charge. Tickets are on sale now at www.artshuntsville.org.
  The Panoply Arts Festival hours by day are: Friday 5–9 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.–9 p.m. (Art Marketplace closes at 7:30 p.m.); Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
  Festival entrances are presented by Huntsville Utilities and TVA and are on Church Street and Williams Avenue at Big Spring Park. The Panoply festival is supported by more than 1,200 volunteers. Volunteer Check-in Areas presented by Torch Technologies are adjacent to the festival entrances.  AT&T, the official wireless and internet carrier, will be on-site to answer technology inquiries.
  For more information, volunteer sign-up, and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.artshuntsville.org/panoply-arts-festival/.

Featured Music 

Panoply 2024 brings together a vibrant musical lineup featuring over 33 bands and musicians. Get ready to experience a wide range of musical genres across two festival stages: the Indie Stage and the Showcase Stage presented by Church Street Family. From soulful jazz and electrifying rock to smooth R&B and catchy pop, Panoply offers something for every musical taste. Festivalgoers will discover local favorites and regional talents, showcasing Huntsville’s incredible music scene.

• Friday night: The Showcase stage will feature two dynamic local women in music. Young singer-songwriter Delaney Faulds debuted on Panoply’s Indie Stage in 2023, but this is bringing her full band to the festival Showcase Stage. Local pop powerhouse The Dawn Osbourne Band will rock audiences and close out the festival’s Friday night lineup.
• Saturday: Features a full day of music that starts when the festival opens at 10 a.m. One of the bands gracing the Panoply stage for the first time is The Band Silhouette, an indie rock group. Their debut album “Seedlings” dropped this month. Returning favorites are also in the music mix throughout the day, as bands like Little and the Giants return to Panoply with their sweet contemporary folk sound.
  
• Saturday night: Get ready to dance as Soul Lit Band warms up the crowd before Huntsville’s favorite progressive funk rock band, Quantaphonics, takes the stage. This 13-piece band is known for their energetic improvisation, on-stage chemistry and killer original music. 
• Sunday: Stage lineup begins with jazz from City Vibes and features an array of R&B and soul from Victoria Jones, Kristoffer Leshaun and Jazz McKenzie. Panoply’s Indie Stage, located in Big Spring East, plays host to many of Huntsville’s favorite local singers and songwriters, duos, and instrumentalists such as: Shelly Saxman Williams, The Love Apples, Tyler AK, Cheryl Llewellyn, GORRIO, Preston Watts, C1Live and more. (Full programming schedule is available at www.artshuntsville.org.) 

OTHER EVENTS

• “The Big Swim” Interactive Art Installation: Festivalgoers of all ages will immerse themselves in a kaleidoscope of color as they walk through a tunnel-like art installation designed exclusively for Panoply. The interactive art piece is created by local artist Susie Garrett.
• The Panoply ZenZone: The Panoply ZenZone, presented by Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children, is a new sensory-friendly space within the festival. Panoply, by definition, is a magnificent array. At the Panoply ZenZone, festivalgoers of all ages will find an intentionally designed space in Big Spring Park that provides sensory resources for attendees to better enjoy the Panoply experience.
• Arts in Action and Community Art: Regional artists will offer demonstrations of their craft at Panoply’s Arts in Action tents, where children and adults can try their hand at fiber arts with yarn or silk dying or learn to play music with cigar box guitars. Festivalgoers of all ages will also get to stretch their creative muscles with hands-on community art activities, including festival favorite “Paint The Panoply” letters presented by SCHOEL. The First Baptist Church Arts Team is also returning to Panoply this year, and with the support of First Baptist and the Trideum Foundation, festivalgoers will create an original mosaic installation to be installed at the new Sandra Moon Arts Rehearsal Wing.
• Art OutLoud Stage: Panoply welcomes the return of the Art OutLoud Stage, presented by the Carrie Link Foundation for the Arts and Education. This stage features spoken word performances from local literary figures and poets.
• Art Marketplace: The Panoply Art Marketplace provides prime shopping across Huntsville’s picturesque and beloved Big Spring Park. This year the juried Art Marketplace will welcome more than 100 visual artists. One of the festival’s most popular features, the 2024 Art Marketplace will showcase longtime festival artists and over 40 first-time Panoply exhibitors. This year’s artists come from 23 states, with some traveling from as far as Colorado and Massachusetts for the 42nd Panoply Arts Festival. 
• Student Art Tent and Face Painting Tent: Children and adults will discover budding local artistic talent at the Panoply Student Art Tent in Big Spring Park East, presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Alabama. This popular Panoply destination features artwork from students in Madison County. Across Big Spring Park by the Travellers public art installation, festivalgoers can celebrate their creative side at the Panoply Face Painting Tent – a festival favorite! – presented by Mirabel Chan & the Pei-Ling Charitable Trust.
• Panoply Poster Artist: Each year, Arts Huntsville commissions an artist to create an art piece that captures the festival’s spirit and the community. This year’s Panoply poster artist is Jessica Nunno. Originally from Connecticut, Jessica holds a BFA in illustration from New York’s School of Visual Arts. Her work focuses on creature and character design, concept art, and comic and pop culture illustrations. She works out of her studio at Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment and she teaches locally with the Huntsville Museum of Art and Arts Huntsville’s Creative Launchpad.
  Nunno will sell her original paintings at Panoply, and festivalgoers can purchase merchandise featuring her artwork at the Panoply Store, presented by Georgia Pacific. Arts Huntsville will also offer a limited number of signed posters for the public to purchase.
• Hands-on Activities: Panoply’s STEAM Street, presented by Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Alabama, will be the scene of special activities.

• Panoply Creativity Corner: Presented by Virginia and Parker Griffith, will offer art and music opportunities.

• Military Salute Night: The Panoply tradition of Military Salute Night, presented by Northrop Grumman, is Friday. All active-duty military and Armed Forces Reserves and their dependents are welcomed to the park for a free evening of entertainment. Military personnel will be asked to show their current military ID at the entrances.
• Panoply Beer, Wine and Festival Food: Along with Panoply’s diverse array of art and music, festivalgoers can enjoy local tastes from 17 food trucks featuring Pepsi products from the official soft drink of Panoply. The Panoply Craft Beer and Wine Tent is centrally located between the main park and Big Spring East and will feature select wine and local craft beer from Yellowhammer and Straight to Ale.
• Festival Seating and Fireworks: Visitors are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to sit on as they enjoy the lineup of Panoply performers. Friday and Saturday nights will end with a fireworks display presented by Delta Research.