21-02-2025
What to expect at Charlotte SHOUT! 2025
Charlotte SHOUT! returns to Uptown April 4-20.
Why it matters: The popular spring festival, which celebrates art, music, food and ideas, draws hundreds of thousands of people to Uptown each year.
By the numbers: More than 642,000 people attended the 2024 festival.
According to Charlotte Center City Partners, the festival organizer, it produced $17.1 million in economic impact for Uptown businesses.
What to expect: The family-friendly festival includes more than 200 events and art installations — like massive inflatable characters and mini golf designed by local artists.
There will also be CanStruction, a live competition where engineers and designers will create CanArt® sculptures. The cans of food will later be donated to local food bank Second Harvest.
Familiar favorites include E/motion (the light-up see-saws), Eggs on Parade (massive Easter eggs designed by local artists), and Pianodrome (an amphitheater constructed from 40 recycled pianos).
There will be a pre-festival ticketed event on April 3 at 7pm at the newly restored Carolina Theatre, celebrating art, music, food, ideas, and fashion. Noelle Russell, CEO of the AI Leadership Institute, will deliver a keynote speech examining the impact and future of AI.
A full events schedule and list of locations will be released closer to the festival.
Charlotte SHOUT! will serve as the umbrella for three additional festivals:
The Charlotte Ideas Festival runs April 3-8 and will feature astrophysicist and musician Matt Russo, who will speak about the sounds of the cosmos, plus bestselling authors Ann Patchett and Kevin Wilson.
Carolina BBQ Festival is April 4-5, featuring live music, local vendors and top pitmasters.
Charlotte StrEATs runs April 12-13, highlighting Charlotte's food scene. StrEATs Uncorked returns on April 4, focusing on North Carolina wine.
