SALISBURY — The Cheerwine Festival is only a month away and it won’t be long until tens of thousands of people converge on downtown Salisbury to commemorate over 100 years of the namesake soda. 

At the April 16 Salisbury City Council meeting, Event Coordinator Vivian Koontz gave an update on what to expect for the upcoming extravaganza. 

“We do anticipate another excited crowd and because of that that has prompted some very necessary adjustments that we will be making to this year’s festival,” Koontz said. 

The city will have an “enhanced festival footprint” this year, meaning the festival will be taking up more space than usual in order to accommodate everyone’s safety and comfort. Koontz advised that in the past, the city has closed off more space for the festival than they actually use, but now they will be operating in those areas.

“The intent is not to add a whole lot of stuff into that space, but to spread out what we currently have been doing,” Koontz said. 

Other changes include having the festival expansion to West Fisher and West Innes streets to Jackson Street, Bell Tower Green being accessible to the public, and providing additional restrooms and shuttles.The three shuttle locations will be at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Catawba College and the Livingstone College School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts. Koontz recommended people who are attending the festival to utilize the shuttles instead of parking in private lots due to safety concerns. 

There are discussions going on at the moment to improve cellular service and Wi-Fi capabilities for festival goers after technical difficulties occurred in 2023.

Police Chief Patrick “P.J.” Smith said that the Salisbury Police Department has contacted nearby municipalities both in and out of the county in order to act as security for the festival and to still be able to allocate law enforcement services to residents. 

Fire Chief Bob Parnell said the Salisbury Fire Department is going to be “better centrally located with the Bell Tower Green enhancement.” He also said they will have a third medical crew on site instead of the standard two. 

The Cheerwine Festival will take place on Saturday, May 18, from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, go to https://cheerwinefest.com/