UPTOWN CHARLOTTE | MAY 26, 27 AND 28, 2011 | NOON-11PM DAILY
Welcome to the 17th annual presentation of Food Lion Speed Street! Get ready to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with all of the fanfare and fireworks of the fastest sport in the US, alongside a half-million or more friends and family, with the rest of the nation looking on in envy. There’s the NASCAR All-Star Race, the world’s largest TV screen, the Coca-Cola 600, and Charlotte’s largest annual festival—Food Lion Speed Street! At this spectacular, award-winning event alone you’ll enjoy 33 hours of festivities, food, entertainment and extremely-fast fun in the canyons of Uptown Charlotte. And admission is free. his FREE Special Edition Program, presented by Southern Sports Journal, the #1 new magazine of southern sports, and Charlotte PROWLER Magazine, is designed to give you a quick introduction to Food Lion Speed Street, the 2011 three day event schedule, and a handy map of this year’s festival footprint in Uptown Charlotte. As a primer for the big event—Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway—we’ve included a special editorial feature showcasing the Top 15 NASCAR Sprint Drives/Teams who currently round out the top of the pack. Read it, study it, and talk the talk when Sunday comes. Whatever your holiday plans, you’ve come to the right place. So let us suggest how you might spend your time at this one-of-a-kind event that is sure to be a part of your most memorable Memorial Day weekend ever.
plan a visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It will send chills down the spine of any true stock-caraholic.
NASCAR Fans If you’re a die-hard NASCAR fan, you’ll want to study the map, schedule, and driver appearance schedule to make the most of the event. If you haven’t already,
Family Time Food Lion Speed Street was designed to offer something for everyone. The kid’s events and festival area rivals the fun planned for adults. Kids can dance,
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sing and become a star onstage. Prizes, giveaways, and challenges abound—your kids won’t want to leave—so get started early! Soak Up Your City One of the things that appeals to visitors and Charlotteans alike is the novelty of being able to stroll leisurely down the double-yellow line on otherwise off-limits Tryon and College, taking time to see the pristine storefronts and towering glass bank buildings. And for those of us who rarely venture Center-Cityward, exploring the manicured pocket-courtyards, surprising eateries and polished cityscapes is nothing short of breath-taking. While the car traffic pauses, take a good look at your city on-foot. Eat. Drink. People watch. Rarely will you have such an opportunity as this to casually choose between sophisticated and historic lunch and dinner options Uptown, many with exceptional special menus and pricing planned just for the day during Food Lion Speed Street. And if you catch the festival spirit, who can resist the grilling vendors and infrequent faire-food? Make your selection, locate a cafe table, church wall or otherwise infrequent vantage point, and feast. On great food and endless imagery. Exhibits, exhibitions and....freebies! One of the hallmarks of NASCAR is doing things BIG. Over the (big) top. So admission is free, and expect an armload of other neat, nifty and, for sure, promotional, items. You might take a back pack or bag, but you’ll probably be given something (free) to haul your loot home in. We see two crowds emerging here—families have strollers, which bear the weight of many items. Then there is the single crowd, which cannot be bothered with any payload more than a drink (or two). Which brings us to.. Later in the day/evening After the families have gathered en masse, and the day turns into evening, things get loud.
NASCAR engines implode against the confines of buildings. Which results in screams, hollars—and of course, Rebel Yells. And something happens to the music emanating from the stages. National recording artists—massive fun On multiple stages, tarps come down, the big lights go up and the masses pour in...to hear a carefully selected set of country, rock and pop favorites. The folks at Jay Howard Events, the producers of Food Lion Speed Street seem to have a knack at presenting top talent and bands, some we haven’t heard from in a while, but we all can’t wait to hear again. Going back, Morris Day and the Time, Pat Benatar, ...well. You get the point. This year, you’re likely going to be excited about the following lineup: Pat Green (Let Me, Feels Just Like It Should, I Like Texas)
Rose Royce (Car Wash, I Wanna Get Next to You, Wishing on a Star), Midnight Star (No Parking on the Dance Floor, Electricity, Freak-a-Zoid), Josh Turner (Your Man, Would You go with Me, Firecracker, Why Don’t We Just Dance), Everclear (Santa Monica, I Will Buy You a New Life, Wonderful), Clay Walker (What’s It to You, Lie Until I Die, Dreaming with My Eyes Open, If I Could Make a Living, Rumor Has It), Starship starring Mickey Thomas (Jane, We Built This City, Sara), Eddie Money (Baby Hold On to Me, Two Tickets to Paradise, Take Me Home Tonight, Shakin’, I Wanna Go Back) So once again, WELCOME to Food Lion Speed Street 2011 in the streets of Uptown Charlotte! We hope it will be one of your most memorable Memorial Day weekends ever! For more information, please visit www.600Festival.com, the official website of Food Lion Speed Street. Presented by Food Lion, Team Chevrolet, Coca-Cola and Miller Lite.