An art display featuring blown glass red poppies will call the Square its new home as part of the celebration of the Red Poppy Festival’s 20th year. The three-day festival from April 26-28 brings a slew of events to downtown Georgetown, including live music, food, performances, a car show and a parade. “[The festival] is going to be really fun,” Georgetown Visitors Bureau Manager Cari Miller said, adding that attendees should “come prepared to have the time of their lives.” The art display’s unveiling, which will serve as a kickoff event for the festival, is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 26 in front of the city’s former municipal court and City Council chambers at 101 E. Seventh St., Georgetown, Miller said. This year’s festival also includes the screening of a 20th-anniversary video directed by Georgetown native Chet Garner, host of PBS series “The Daytripper.” The video, which will be screened at the Red Poppy stage on the Square, explores the festival’s origin and how it has grown and developed over the past two decades, Miller said. The festival brought 65,000 people to the center of town in 2018, and Miller said the visitors bureau expects even more attendees this year. A new shuttle bus route will run April 27 to bring visitors from parking lots at East View High School, 4490 E. University Ave., Georgetown, to the festival, Miller said. Attendees can also catch a shuttle to the Square from First Baptist Georgetown at 1333 W. University Ave., Georgetown. Miller said the two shuttles are meant to help attendees from the east and west sides of Georgetown get to the festival without having to fight traffic and find parking downtown. Even though organizing the annual event takes months of work, Miller said she enjoys highlighting Georgetown through musical acts, activities and other attractions during the event. “It takes a team to do the festival; a huge, huge team,” Miller said. “It’s our opportunity to showcase our beautiful city to the whole state.” Georgetown city officials are looking for volunteers to assist with litter pickup and public outreach to help the festival meet its goal of being a "zero waste" event. Red Poppy Layout Source: city of Georgetown/Community Impact Newspaper [/caption]