Celebrate Gaithersburg and Navigate the Festival “with Ease”

There's nothing quite like trying to navigate through a busy, crowded festival in the middle of summer. Everyone around you is sweating from the heat, that one food stand you want to get to is always hard to find -- it’s like they know you’re looking long and hard so it’s somehow always in the most obscure area possible. And by the time you reach the music venue after finding the location and pushing through the crowd, it’s already the middle of the set.

Fortunately for Gaithersburg residents, this weekend’s 32nd annual Celebrate! Gaithersburg in Olde Towne has taken full advantage of technology. The festival comes with a brand new app available in the iTunes and Android App Stores that will help people navigate through everything slated to happen at the celebration.

The festival will take place on Sunday, June 8, at the intersection of East Diamond and Summit Avenues. The app will allow festival-goers to create a custom schedule for the day -- optional reminder feature -- use a map to see where all the activities and exhibits are taking place, vote for their favorite in the BBQ Showdown and take pictures with a photo booth feature that comes complete with festival frames and stickers to decorate right on your phone.

Activities for children include a beach ball pit -- if you’re still a kid at heart, maybe they’ll let the adults in too -- athletic activities like floor hockey, soccer, basketball, flag football, etc. hosted by i9 Sports, a variety of inflatables for toddlers, kids, and teens -- zip line, giant slide, obstacle course, and of of course no festival is complete without a bounce house.

Event-goers can walk through a butterfly house and watch the colorful insects flutter all around you. Some might even be bold enough to land on you -- try not to scare them off.

For all the vintage car lovers -- they just don’t make ‘em the same anymore -- the festival will feature restored cars from 1975 and earlier, including a 1695 Pontiac GTO, a 1970 Ford Mustang Greybird, a 1967 Chevy Nova, a 1967 Chevy Camaro, and more.

What would a festival be without great food? One of the highlights will be the Celebrate! Gaithersburg BBQ Showdown, presented by Battley Harley-Davidson. Competing vendors include: Copper Canyon Grill, Better than Carolina BBQ, Big Fat Daddy’s, Curley’s Q, Carnivore BBQ, Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company, Branded ‘72 and more. Stop by, vote through the festival app, and see who gets to go home with bragging rights.

We could keep listing out all of the activities, but the complete list might turn out to be just as overwhelming as trying to navigate through the crowd.

Live music will also be featured throughout the day on the Backyard Bluegrass Stage and the City Hall Concert Pavillion. Entertainment includes performances from Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, The Seldom Scene, Grand Ole’ Ditch, Afro Bop Alliance, and Ola Fresca. Schedule and line-up of performances can be found. . . you guessed it, on the festival app, or online.

So snap away with your smartphone and don’t forget to share your festival adventure with us in the boards.