Overview The Druid City Arts Festival fills Government Plaza, directly behind Tuscaloosa City Hall, with more than 80 regional artists selling handmade work, with no resale, kits or mass-produced goods allowed, over a Friday evening and a Saturday each April, beside a live music stage, a kids zone and food vendors. Admission is free. University of Alabama Creative Campus student interns started it in 2010, it was first run with Visit Tuscaloosa, and the City of Tuscaloosa's Arts and Entertainment Department coordinates it; 2026 was its 17th year. On site In 2026 the plaza opened 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, rain or shine. Artists work from white-topped 10-by-10 tents around the perimeter, through the interior and in the park at the center, selling clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, photography, sculpture and woodworking, and each one has to staff the booth for both days. A committee picks the artists. The Kid Zone runs henna, free tie-dye shirts, make-and-take projects from Druid City Makerspace, Girl Scouts STEM crafts, the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra Guild's instrument petting zoo and the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter's mobile adoption van. Talent and Influencers In 2026 the stage ran Friday night with Finding North, the Chad Marshall Band and Brotha Josh; Saturday opened with the Tuscaloosa Children's Theater and went on through Avery Landrum, Drum Nation, Montgomery Highway, Three's Company and The Martini Shakers to Funky Lampshades. Brand presence Individual pieces of the festival carry a partner's name: Mercedes-Benz U.S. International presented the performance stage in 2026, McAbee presented the Kid Zone, and the Tuscaloosa Association of Realtors paid for the free kids' tie-dye shirts. Partner packages are sold at the presenting, entertainment and food truck village levels.