Before You Load In - 3rd Friday in Safety Harbor.

Before You Load In - 3rd Friday in Safety Harbor.

Every Third Friday the City of Safety Harbor holds a block party. This party takes place on Main Street. It starts off at the Harbor Bar on 9th Ave South and goes all the way down to Screaming Jalapeno. Which is located down the street from the Safety Harbor Spa. The celebration features twelve bands, dinning and shopping through out the city. Each month the city is packed with cheer and great energy. The diverse music scheduled has complemented the festival well. Tampa Bay's best musicians grace the stages for 3rd Friday.

Let's look at the logistics for loading in and out. If you’re a vendor and this is your first time at 3rd Friday here are some pointers.

• The event starts off at 6pm and goes till 10p
• Parking on the street is closed to the public after 4pm. The police do a great job of getting cars off the road, so that vendors can setup.
• If you are able to park your trailer/truck at your vending spot you should arrive at 3:45. This will secure your parking.
• If you don’t plan on leaving your trailer/truck by your spot you’ll want to arrive between 3-4pm. This will give you ample time to unload and move your vehicle to a parking spot.
• Parking is really limited in Safety Harbor. The best spots are one block away ( south or North of Main) theses spots are in the residential area. Just make sure that you are not blocking a driveway.
• If your vending spot is close to the library, there is parking in and around the library.
  Don’t attempt to park at the Safety Harbor Spa. The majority of all parking is reserved for the resorts guess.

The event goes till 10pm. Once the police remove the barricades you'll be able to get back on the street. In my experience, it's normally about 10:15 before we can get the truck and trailer on main street to pickup our stage.

If you are a musician and need to drop off your gear.....the best option is to arrive early. get If you are habitually late then you are going to run into problems. If you arrive after the police block the street off, they may or may not let  you drive in. Which could make for a really long walk with your gear. Finding parking after 5:30 pm is a struggle..

This is a fun event. The live music amplifies the town. Plus the City and Chamber have done an outstanding job making this event run smooth. Lots of opportunity at this event. My best advice is to arrive a little earlier than normal and the event will run smooth.