St. Paul is preparing for the massive Minnesota Yacht Club Festival this weekend. The city is buzzing with activity as it prepares to welcome over 100,000 attendees to the Minnesota Yacht Club festival at Harriet Island Regional Park.
Hosting an event of this magnitude has been a monumental undertaking, according to Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez - and it starts with safety.
"EMS and fire on standby if there are any heat-related issues or medical emergencies throughout the festival," notes Rodriguez. "Then you have the Coast Guard and Ramsey County Sheriffs that help patrol the water and the river. So there's a lot that goes into this work in terms of the detailed mechanics of security."
While Metro Transit's Green Line train service to the area will be temporarily replaced by buses due to maintenance, Rodriguez says city officials are working tirelessly to ensure a smooth experience for all festival-goers.
"There'll be multiple officers on site and then outside as well," he says. "If you think about traffic control, making sure that there's some type of security or law enforcement presence is the ideal scenario, and that's what we strive for. I also didn't mention that there's a ton of different private security throughout the grounds."
There were some in St. Paul upset with Metro Transit's plan to shut down the trains the same week as the festival but Rodriguez believes things will still run seamlessly. There are more details below about how to use transit to get to the festival without the trains.
Parking and Transit
Parking - as always - is a difficult endeavor for Harriet Island so finding alternate routes there is recommended, including transit and rideshare options.
You can park in downtown St. Paul and walk into the festival which can take 10-15 minutes depending on where you find space.
There are two entrances for Minnesota Yacht Club. The Main Entrance to the festival is at Harriet Island Blvd and S Wabasha St and the West Entrance is on W Water St between Bidwell St and Plato Blvd.
Lineup and Entertainment
The music lineup contains some big names and plenty to do.
Friday is headlined by Hozier and Alabama Shakes along with Train and Sheryl Crow. Saturday sees Fall Out Boy and Weezer hit the main stage while Sunday closes the festival with Green Day and Sublime.
There are many other acts across the two stages. You can see the full schedule here. Doors open at 12:30 all three days with music starting just before 1:00. The show shuts down at curfew which is 10:30.
And naturally there are many food and beverage vendors set up to take care of the masses with plenty of options for those with dietary restrictions. A map of that is available here.
How to take transit to the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival
There are several ways to get to and from the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival on transit July 18-20. Here is what you need to know if you are heading to St. Paul’s Harriet Island Regional Park to take in the festivities.
What routes can I take to the festival?
Several routes serve downtown St. Paul, with stops on 5th and 6th streets that are about a 15-minute walk from the festival entrances located west of Wabasha Street, including:
The METRO Gold Line, operating east of St. Paul along the I-94 corridor with trips every 15 to 30 minutes past midnight. Free Park & Rides are located at Sun Ray Station in St. Paul, Helmo Station in Oakdale, and Woodlane?Park & Ride in Woodbury.
The METRO B Line, with service along Selby and Marshall avenues and Lake Street in Minneapolis. Trips run every 10 to 15 minutes until past 1 a.m.
Route 94 with non-stop service between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. Trips run every 30 minutes until close to midnight on Friday and Saturday and 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Route 54 with limited stop service between downtown St. Paul and Mall of America and trips every 15 to 30 minutes past midnight. Park for free at 30th Avenue Station.
Route 62 directly serves the festival grounds, with northbound and southbound stops at Wabasha Street and Water Street/Filmore Avenue and service past midnight. Route 68 also serves the nearby Robert Street corridor with service past midnight.