J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival: How to get to Dix Park and get around Raleigh
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival is expected to bring 40,000 people to Dix Park April 6, the biggest event ever held at the park thus far.
But in proving itself as a future destination for such large-scale events, the park will have to handle thousands of concert-goers without twisting the roads in and around downtown Raleigh in a traffic jam.
City officials and festivals producers expect attendees to arrive to the sold-out event at the park by car, on foot, ride services and even scooters.
Here’s a look at parking, road closings, shuttles and how to get around.
The basics
Dix Park’s 300 acres are just south of downtown Raleigh, sandwiched between Centennial Parkway and Western Boulevard.
If you’re plugging it in your GPS, search for “The Big Field at Dix Park” at 101 Blair Drive. Gorman Street is the recommended exit on Interstate 40.
This week, roads in and around Dix Park are closed and through the festival. That includes Barbour/Biggs Drive from Blair Drive to Goode Street. The park is closed to the public from 6 p.m. April 5 to 2 p.m. April 7.
For a map of which roads to avoid in planning your route to the festival, visit dorotheadixpark.org.
Parking
There is no parking available at the park, so don’t bother trying. The closest option is parking at NC State’s Centennial campus for $20. Shuttles will run from the university lots to the festival.
Tip: Reserve your parking space ahead of time at dreamvillefest.com/getting-here/.
Downtown Raleigh has plenty of free parking on the weekends and there will be a $10 Dreamville shuttle running from downtown to Dix Park. There are three pickup locations along South Blount Street intersections: at East Hargett, East Martin and East Cabarrus streets, all near public parking garages.
Tip: Buy your shuttle pass in advance at dreamvillefest.com/getting-here/.
Ride shares
If you’re taking an Uber or Lyft, taxi or have a friend willing to drop you off, there’s a designated lot off Western Boulevard. Dreamville’s preferred rideshare is Lyft, so there’s a slightly closer lot at Stancil Drive for those drivers and a promo code for first-time riders (DREAMVILLEFEST).
By bike or by foot
Dix Park is about a mile from downtown Raleigh. A lit path is mapped out along South Saunders Street, to Western Boulevard and then Hunt Drive, leading straight into Dix Park. Give yourself a good 30-or-so minutes to make the trek.
For cyclists, there’s bike parking along Hunt Drive to the east and Blair Drive to the West. The newly rolled-out Citrix Cycle bike share also has a Dix Park station, but the dock is maxed out at 16 bikes.
For more information and to consult a Dreamville-centric map of Raleigh, visit dreamvillefest.com/getting-here/.
Streaming Dreamville on Tidal
If you can’t make it to Dix Park, you can watch the Dreamville Fest from the comfort of your living room. Jay-Z’s streaming service Tidal will make the festival available online starting at 12:30 p.m. Tune in at tidal.com/DreamvilleFest.
This story was originally published April 4, 2019 at 4:49 PM with the headline "J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival: How to get to Dix Park and get around Raleigh."
