Tickets, parking, useful information

For the first time in twelve years, a major rock and pop music festival called the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival will be held at Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul on Friday and Saturday.

Headlining acts include Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The festival (which, despite its name, has nothing to do with yacht rock) is put on by C3 Presents, an Austin, Texas-based company that is also behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience and the modern-day Lollapalooza. C3 was the largest independent promoter in the world until Live Nation bought a majority stake in the company in 2014.

The organizers expect to attract more than 30,000 concertgoers every day.

While the Irish Fair of Minnesota makes its home on Harriet Island each August, music festivals have had a tough time on the grounds. The original Lollapalooza (then a traveling festival) was held on the grounds in 1991, 1992 and 1994, but flooding forced the festival to move to the former St. Paul Civic Center in 1993.

Live Nation attempted to launch a new annual event, the River’s Edge Music Festival, in 2012. Despite big-name headliners Tool and Dave Matthews Band, the festival failed to attract enough paying customers to convince the concert promotion giant to return for a second year.

Here’s what people going to the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival need to know:

Tickets

As of Wednesday afternoon, tickets were still available at a range of prices, starting at $135 for one day (or $255 for two days) to platinum tickets for $925 ($1,395 for two days), which include a number of perks including free food and drinks, stage views and access to a climate-controlled lounge. For more information, visit minnesotayachtclubfestival.com.

Many of the General Admission and General Admission Plus tickets are sold out, but resale tickets are known to be available, some at prices below face value.

Getting there

There are two entrances to the festival. The main entrance is located at Harriet Island Boulevard and South Wabasha Street, while the west entrance is located on West Water Street between Bidwell Street and Plato Boulevard.

There is no on-site parking at the festival, but the website lists numerous parking spots in downtown St. Paul within a 10- to 16-minute walk of the site. Several Metro Transit buses stop within a half-mile of Harriet Island. The rideshare bus stops at 49 E. Fillmore Ave. The festival promises “ample bike parking” near both entrances.

What is allowed on site

You are welcome to bring the following: Small purses and fanny packs (6 x 9 inches or smaller) with no more than one pocket, all other bags must be clear and smaller than 12 x 6 x 12 inches, empty hydration packs and reusable water bottles, strollers, Frisbees, binoculars, blankets, simple cameras (no removable lenses or other accessories), sunscreen in non-aerosol containers (3.4 ounces or less), personal-sized hand sanitizer, and factory-sealed naloxone/Narcan kits.

What is not allowed

Pretty much anything you can imagine, including outside food and drinks, coolers, aerosol canisters, umbrellas, chairs, carts, skateboards, drones, fireworks, and illegal substances.

Get in

Concertgoers must wear securely locked wristbands, available at the box office. Wristbands can be activated online to add an emergency contact and used for cashless transactions (with a PIN number). Damaged, lost or stolen wristbands can be replaced by the original purchaser only once for $20. Visitors may leave and re-enter the stadium at will until 7:00 p.m. each day.

There is a guest services tent with earplugs and a lost and found desk. There are free hydration stations throughout the property. Lockers can be rented for $25 per day or $48.50 for both.

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