ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Arts, Beats & Eats festival is now underway in Royal Oak after days of severe weather complicated preparations and pushed back today's opening by one hour.
Organizers delayed the start from 11 a.m. to noon to give vendors, food operators, and artists more time to set up after storms made preparations difficult throughout the week.
Jon Witz, the festival's producer, described the lead-up to opening day as a grueling stretch.
"Three days of serious storms, the first two especially, we had tents destroyed, but the biggest thing is we lose time, we have people working, you have to keep them safe, interrupt that, stop the stages," Witz said.
Despite the setbacks, Witz said getting the festival ready for its opening day crowd was a significant accomplishment.
"It is such an achievement to be ready to host alone 70,000-80,000 people today," Witz said.
Artist Tim Gralewski said the stormy conditions didn't significantly slow his preparations.
"I think like most of us out here, we've been through a lot over the years, so this wasn't anything too much out of the normal, we just roll with it," Gralewski said.
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Food vendors also pushed through the challenging conditions. Jordan Simovski, co-owner of iFreeze Creamery, said the morning brought some concern but the outlook was improving.
"This morning, a little storm rolling in, it was kind of an issue but it's starting to clear up now, hopefully we get a nice weekend," Simovski said.
Luigi Cutraro, owner of Trattoria Da Luigi, offered a philosophical take on the weather.
"You can not go against Mother Nature, Mother Nature always wins so you have to accept it but look now, now it's beautiful so come on down," Cutraro said.
Attendees said the weather wasn't enough to keep them away. Jim Mitrano, a Midland resident, summed up his reason for attending simply.
"Cause this is a fantastic festival," Mitrano said.
Kendra Alpert, a Royal Oak resident, said the event is a tradition for her.
"We love coming down here for the food and art and we just love seeing all the people out and about," Alpert said.
Arts, Beats & Eats runs through Labor Day.
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