YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Teams have been setting up all morning for this year’s Federal Frenzy, which brings food and live music to the downtown area as Youngstown State University students finish up their semester. But this year, there are some changes.
The Youngstown State Penguin Productions team has been hard at work preparing for Federal Frenzy on Saturday. They say it’s even bigger than last year’s festivities.
You’ll notice this year that it’s in a different location, further down Federal Street.
We spoke with the city and the university about all the changes, including some indoor stages.
“We will have four stages. Two will be outdoors, one on East Federal and one by Youngstown Flea, and we have two stages inside of Penguin City,” said Penguin Productions’ advisor Erin Driscoll.
Last year, all the stages for Federal Frenzy were outdoors because they tried to keep things spread out due to COVID-19. But when they were coordinating with the city for this year, they were told construction could impact their usual West Federal location.
“We started thinking ahead to other locations and really loved the concept of still being Federal Frenzy, just moving east on Federal Street and showcasing some of the new developments in the city,” Driscoll said.
Downtown events coordinator Melanie Clarke-Penella says she doesn’t anticipate construction will impact the other festivals that are traditionally held on West Federal.
“It’s looking like other heritage festivals will remain downtown. This one just had to be in flux because of the time of year it was positioned in,” Clarke-Penella said.
Penguin Productions will shuttle attendees in from the recommended parking on YSU’s campus. Driscoll hopes the event will still funnel traffic to all the downtown businesses.
“Construction has been a challenge for everyone so we’re hoping just by getting people down into the city, not only will they enjoy Federal Frenzy but also visit a lot of our friends and partners in previous years down on West Federal, too,” Driscoll said.
East Federal Street will be closed from Wilson Avenue to Andrews Avenue. It will reopen Monday at 7 a.m.
Federal Frenzy starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
