Big Changes, Brighter Future: A Q&A with Festival Board Co-Chair Joe Rinehart on the 2027 move to Ariel-Foundation Park.

For decades, the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival has brought our community together to celebrate local artists, live music, and summer traditions. Recently, the festival board announced a major evolution: starting in 2027, the festival will move to Ariel-Foundation Park and take place June 11th–13th, 2027.

We sat down with Festival Board Co-Chair Joe Rinehart to ask the tough questions, discuss why this transition is happening, and explore what it means for our community, our downtown businesses, and the future of the festival.

Q: Joe, moving the festival off the downtown square [Mount Vernon] is a huge shift. Why is this move happening now?

Joe Rinehart: "We’ve been talking about this for several months now and we almost made the move this past summer, but the timeline was too tight. It really comes down to two main things: financial sustainability and event quality. Setting up a full-scale festival downtown is expensive. Portable staging, street closures, traffic management, and temporary power setups swallow up a huge chunk of our budget every single year. The move to Ariel-Foundation Park helps us with permanent facilities that are flexible for the weather. We also look forward to highlighting what makes MVMAF unique and differentiating it from other downtown events.

KCCVB: “With Ariel-Foundation Park already “set up”, it seems like it may not be such a heavy lift then for the volunteers (and budget)…”

Joe Rinehart: As a board, we lean heavily on our set-up and logistics team of volunteers, and we’re confident that Ariel-Foundation Park was built for events like this. Moving to a venue with permanent stages, built-in power, and dedicated infrastructure allows us to eliminate those heavy setup costs. Every dollar we save on logistics will go directly back into the festival—funding higher-caliber musical acts, expanding art installations, and bringing in richer interactive experiences, all while keeping the festival free to the public. Look at BrickFest this year -a new interactive LEGO experience- can we find more of those types of unique experiences, find the partners and sponsors to make it grow?"

Q: We’ve seen local shop owners and community members express concern on social media about leaving Downtown Mount Vernon. What is your message to downtown merchants?

Joe Rinehart: "We hear those concerns loud and clear, and that is the really sad part about moving the festival. But we have no idea what the Ohio SR13 project will mean for traffic, and people still need to get to those businesses. If you read the online conversations, downtown businesses have differing data and opinions about the impact of the festival. I personally had asked community leaders in the past two years to consider a grant for the type of stage we need for national headline entertainment, so we could stay downtown, but that has not materialized into anything concrete. So for now, we need to pivot. We still don’t know if this is a permanent move in terms of location. Still, I believe we need to make the passage from downtown to the park more accessible. We want ideas. We are going to listen and try to be creative. Bottom line, we all need to work together to make the Ariel-Foundation Park corridor to downtown a desirable destination for people. By moving, we also keep the MV Farmer’s Market on the Square that Saturday of the festival.

KCCVB: “Oh for sure, as the KCCVB we are excited for the potential of the downtown businesses and businesses along the trail system to really embrace what it means to bring the festival into their own unique space over that weekend…”

Q:“With every new change that comes to town, you can see it as a challenge or a new opportunity…what new opportunity do you hope this brings for the downtown businesses?”

Joe Rinehart: “Honestly, it is both a challenge and opportunity. The challenges are all the normal questions and topics we have brought to the table already…Will this community come together to help this event grow in the new space? Can we find additional sponsors, grants and volunteers? etc., etc.

Our festival team are all volunteers who work full- time in this community. It’s not our festival, it belongs to this city and county, so we’re thinking of the opportunities that cultivate true collaboration. This is an opportunity for Experience Mount Vernon, The KCCVB, MVAC, merchants and our team to collaborate on ways to drive traffic between the park and downtown. Also, this is an opportunity to think about new ideas and having new people at the table, because let’s be honest we need the community to rally together. Who is out there willing to turn their passion into action? From set-up, teardown, development, marketing, unique event ideas, execution and promotion; what can new volunteers bring to the ideation? This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s how Noelle and I are choosing to lead, surrounding ourselves with talented servant-minded people who love Mount Vernon and Knox County.”

KCCVB: “ It really does take a village and community pride to build a strong event. We’re very excited about partnering on some digital guides, and trail-based connections so visitors and community members can easily move between the park and Main Street throughout the weekend. 

Joe Rinehart: “I’d also like to mention that by shifting the festival from mid-August to June 11–13, 2027, we’re enhancing that early-summer tourism peak in Knox County rather than stacking events in late summer when back-to-school routines and county fairs pull families to other obligations.”

Q: Construction around town has been a hot topic. Did roadwork play a role in this decision?

Joe Rinehart: "Yes, absolutely. Remember, this event closes downtown streets for almost four days, not just a day. As I mentioned, with ongoing and upcoming infrastructure work along the SR13 corridor, hosting a multi-day event downtown was becoming increasingly difficult for traffic flow, parking, and public safety. Anybody who drives in Mount Vernon knows traffic is increasing and infrastructure is not keeping up. That’s the whole point of the city’s reimagining of SR13. Moving to Ariel-Foundation Park eliminates that construction friction entirely, providing guaranteed, stress-free access and ample parking for visitors and locals."

Q: What new features or growth opportunities can attendees look forward to at Ariel-Foundation Park?

Joe Rinehart: "The park gives us 250-acres of green space, paved accessible pathways, and natural amphitheater seating. It gives families room to spread out safely without worrying about vehicle traffic.

It also gives us room to potentially expand popular features like KidFest and BrickFest, bring back the Sunday Cruise-In, and seamlessly connect with our regional bike trail network. We’re looking forward to creating a true multi-zone festival experience that offers something for everyone."

KCCVB: “The direct connection to the trail is fantastic. We have thousands of cyclists traveling the Ohio to Erie Trail all throughout the year, but May/June are definitely a peak time period for trail users. This really entices cyclists and bike tour groups to build their trip to land in Mount Vernon during the festival. We will definitely be connecting with our regional and statewide trail groups to share this opportunity as they plan their 2027 trips.”

Q: What are the next steps as we look toward June 2027?

Joe Rinehart: "This move is a true collaborative effort between the Festival Board and community partners like the Knox County CVB, Experience Mount Vernon, The City of Mount Vernon, the Mount Vernon Arts Consortium, and Ariel-Foundation Park. Over the next several months, we’ll be reaching out directly to local business owners, artists, vendors, and community members to ensure everyone is part of this transition.

…

Thank you Joe Rinehart for sitting down with our team and discussing these big changes, helping us vision the future of the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival. As community partners we understand change isn’t about leaving our history behind, it’s about giving our traditions the room they need to grow. At its core, the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival has never been defined by bricks and pavement; it’s defined by the people who gather, create, and celebrate together. Downtown Mount Vernon will always be the heart of who we are, and Ariel-Foundation Park gives us the canvas to build onto something bigger, brighter, and more accessible for every family (and visitor) in Knox County.

Growth requires courage and fresh perspective, and embracing this change allows us to honor what makes this festival so special while opening up endless possibilities for where it can go. The festival isn’t just moving; it’s stepping boldly into the next great chapter of arts and culture in Mount Vernon. 

Interested in sparking a new idea? Email [email protected]  to volunteer.

We look forward to seeing everyone June 11–13, 2027 at Ariel-Foundation Park!