Popup Palooza returns to Village of Sanford for 2nd year

After local Sanford residents learned that the annual music festival, Parkapalooza wouldn’t take place in the village last year, they rallied together to create their own mini version, Popup Palooza. Held at Porte Park last August, the free event was a success, and is returning this year on Sat, July 23 from 1 to 6 p.m.
Four bands will perform at Popup Palooza in Sanford.
Ed Kerns, president of Dstreet Music Foundation, says the first-ever event last year was held in Porte Park, a newly-acquired greenspace as a result of the 2020 Dam Failure and the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Act. 

Dstreet Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the mission to support live music, Kerns says. “We do that through scholarships, a lending library for musical instruments where we loan instruments to kids who may not be able to afford them – at no cost to anyone. The other thing we do is we put on festivals that are free or inexpensive to attend, and that’s what we’re going to do on July 23 with Pop-up Palooza.” Dstreet Music Foundation has hosted similar free events since 2005, says Kerns. 

“In the golden days of Sanford Lake Park, we would sometimes have 5,000 to 6,000 people, and that’s huge,” he says. “In Porte Park, we had a couple hundred people, but Porte Park itself would not hold a thousand people. The facilities are just not there for it. It’s a greenspace in the center of Sanford, created by all the homes that were sadly washed away in the flood. Where this park is stationed, used to be neighborhood homes, and now it’s a city block’s worth of green grass, trees, and picnic tables.”

Popup Palozza will be held in Sanford's Porte Park, Sat, July 23 from 1:00pm-6:00pm.
He’s expecting about 300-400 people in Porte Park for Popup Palooza. The event will feature food vendors, inflatables, kids activities and live entertainment. Music will be provided by Coleman Road, a classic rock and funk band, The Relix, a country group, Stix and Stone, a pop band, and Brother Hyde, a rock ‘n’ roll band. 

“All of the bands, it’s important to me and our group that they fit in well with a family atmosphere. There’s nothing real hard-core in any direction,” Kerns says. “We will have a wooden dance floor, so people can come and kick up their heels a little bit as well.”

There’s also a cornhole tournament scheduled, make-and-take crafts for kids, and Pop up Sanford will also be on site. 



“Pop up Sanford is a group of vendors that set up every week in Sanford,” Kerns says. “Some are bakers and food-related, and some are crafts people. They typically set up on Saturdays and some other days throughout the week. We have invited them, at no charge them, to be a part of our show.”

Pop up Sanford crafters, makers and growers donate funds back to One Church of Sanford in helping local families with flood recovery, and also to SMART Paws, an animal rescue organization.  Kerns encourages attendees to remember to bring a blanket or chair for the event.