The Panoply Arts Festival is an annual three-day celebration of the arts in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

. The first festival opened on May 14, 1982. The outdoor festival celebrates the arts with a wide array of performances, exhibits, demonstrations, and hands-on activities. Panoply is a production of The Arts Council, Inc., a non-profit organization, with sponsorship by Huntsville-area businesses and volunteer support from up to as many as 2,000 people each year. The festival is held annually on the last full weekend of April in downtown Huntsville's

Big Spring International Park Big Spring International Park (also known as Big Spring Park) is located in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. The park is built around its namesake "Big Spring", the original water source that the city of Huntsville was built around. The Huntsville M ...

and

Von Braun Center The Von Braun Center (known as the Von Braun Civic Center until 1997) is an entertainment complex, with a maximum arena seating capacity of 9,000, located in Huntsville, Alabama. The original facility debuted in 1975 and has undergone several si ...

. Over the years, Panoply has evolved into one of the region's largest festivals, featuring activities and events like the "Global Village" – a gateway to the Huntsville area's diverse cultures – to children's "make-n-take" activities to the "Official Alabama State Fiddling Championship," "Homegrown Talent Contest," and "MOVA Songwriters' Competition." Panoply has had record attendances of over 100,000 in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The Southeast Tourism Society has ranked the festival among its "Top Twenty Events". The 2011 festival was cancelled because of the Super Outbreak of tornadoes that occurred several days before the event was to take place, which deprived the area of electricity. In 2020, it became a virtual event due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

External links

Panoply homepage
Festivals in Alabama Culture of Huntsville, Alabama Tourist attractions in Huntsville, Alabama {{US-festival-stub