Leslie Forrester, Executive Director of Springfield Regional Arts Council. “We’re so excited to be bringing it back after a year hiatus,” she said. “We hit ‘pause’ last year to get everyone safely through the pandemic, so we’re so delighted to be bringing it back.” But it will look different this year, she added. “COVID is still here, and we want to make sure that all of our patrons, artists, staff and volunteers are very safe. So we are very closely following all of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department guidelines. For larger events like this—even outdoors—we are limited to between 2000 and 2500 people per two-hour (period).” In the past, a $5 entrance fee was good for the entire ArtsFest weekend. This year, however, attendees must purchase a spot in one of seven 2-hour “flights” or time periods, that give them access to ArtsFest for just a two-hour period, so that the festival won’t exceed the mandated capacity limits. Naturally, this means a limited number of tickets are available for this year’s ArtsFest. “If there’s a particular time you want to be on the street and out visiting with artists, buy your tickets early, so that way you can get access to that time. Once they’re sold out, they’re sold out, and we won’t be able to let more people in until the next wave.”