Get ready to SHOUT.
Charlotte SHOUT! will fill Uptown with music, food, art installations, and more from Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 20. The two-week festival brings more than 200 activities and events to the Queen City, celebrating our creativity and diversity through multi-sensory, festival-within-festival experiences.
Here’s what you must see:
⛳️ New Installations
- CanStruction | Founders Hall | A live competition where engineering and design industry groups create sculptures using cans of food that will later be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.
- Queen’s Greens | Levine Avenue of the Arts | The beloved mini golf course will be reimagined with nine holes and obstacles designed by local artists.
- Oracle | ImaginOn | Marvel at large inflatable and interactive characters using AI-powered voice features.
- EdgeFest | First Ward Park | Watch dozens of local artists create pieces of art live in the park.
- Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0 | First Ward Park | The interactive red swings return to the city, allowing visitors to reach for the skyline.
- A Stitch in Time | WFAE | Watch “A Stitch in Time” a Fashion Film produced by local designers inside the SHOUT! lounge.
🥚 Returning Favorites
- Easter Eggs on Parade | The Green | Thirteen oversized eggs line The Green, each created by a different artist with a unique story to share.
- Pianodrome | Wells Fargo Atrium | Be surrounded by the music in the country’s first amphitheater built entirely from recycled pianos.
- e/motion | First Ward Park | Ride the wave on this see-saw, imagining you’re surrounded by the ocean while rocking with the water.
- Fashion Icons | Overstreet Mall | Check out ornately-adorned mannequins featuring signature looks from the best design talent in Charlotte.
- !cons | Fifth Third Bank Lobby | Find seven giant exclamation points, each designed by a local artist.
- Temple of Change | Bank of America Plaza | Marvel at stained glass and messages from visitors, designed to honor the change in our world.
Pro tip: Expect surprise installations through Uptown’s alleys and public spaces.
If you need a breather from all the interactive art, visit the SHOUT! Lounge, hosting 16 artist-run shops, live entertainment, face painting, and interactive installations.
🎉 Festivals within a festival
But wait, there’s more. SHOUT! will also be hosting three festivals within the festival.
- Charlotte Ideas Festival | Thursday, April 3-Tuesday, April 8 | Various times | Carolina Theater | $25+ | This event features innovators and thinkers to discuss topics like artificial intelligence and growing business in Charlotte.
- Carolina BBQ Festival | Friday, April 4-Saturday, April 5 | $0+ | Victoria Yards | Taste special rubs and flavors from top pitmasters + live music, local vendors, and drinks.
- StrEATs Uncorked | Friday, April 4 | 6-9 p.m. | Johnson & Wales University | $76+ | Sip and savor North Carolina’s finest wines and cuisines.
- Charlotte StrEATs Festival | Saturday, April 12-Sunday, April 13 | Gateway Village | $0+ | Celebrate the Queen City’s culinary landscape with cooking demos, tastings, and local vendors.
🚗 Getting There
In 2024, the festival attracted more than 642,000 people + $17.1 million in direct spending to Uptown businesses, and $650,000 paid to local creatives and 28 food trucks.
If you plan to attend, here are ways to avoid a jam.
- Driving – This map shows parking garages in Uptown.
- The Light Rail – Take the LYNX Blue Line into the city. Victoria Yards is across the street from the Seventh Street station.
