Oakhurst Porchfest Set for Today

The inaugural Oakhurst Porchfest 2015 will include 134 performances on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2-6 pm on the front porches of 131 Oakhurst homes, according to Decatur Metro.

The very first Porchfest was held in Ithaca, NY, eight years ago, with the concept of having musicians play an afternoon of music on front porches throughout the community. The concept has been spreading ever since, and Decatur’s Oakhurst community is now set to have its inaugural event.

A joint collaboration of resident Scott Doyon, Decatur Metro, and the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Oakhurst Porchfest will transform the neighborhood into a festival a square mile in size where all responsibility for managing the day’s logistics falls to the more than 500 volunteers offering up their porches or performing one hour sets.

“This being our first year, we set out with a conscious decision to aim low and start small,” says Doyon. “Turns out the community had other plans. Their enthusiastic embrace of the idea has already made us one of the five largest Porchfests on the continent.”

Parking is available in decks and lots throughout the neighborhood though visitors are strongly encouraged to instead arrive on foot, by bike, with Uber, or by exiting MARTA’s Blue Line at the East Lake Station.