The Mount Vernon City Council approved a change of location for Nitty Gritty Antiques Festival for this year.

The event, which is no longer part of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group’s events, will have two locations. One will be the parking lot near Polly Ann’s Antiques on First Street. The second location will be at Elliott Park parking lot.

Ann Dew Hansen, owner of Back Porch Pickers and Artisans said that the plan is to move food vendors and other vendors to Elliott Park for the July 4 event.

“The Nitty Gritty festival will host market vendors, food trucks, and vintage tractors,” Dew-Hansen wrote in her application.

Set up will be July 3 from 5 to 9 p.m., with the festival being 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, July 4.

Parking will be allowed at Back Porch Pickers and at Elliott Park, with vendors and food trucks utilizing the further north parking lot near the ball fields for food trucks and vendor spaces.

This new location will not have street closures for the festival, a festival which has drawn in fewer vendors since COVID-19.

City administrator Chris Nosbisch said the only concerns that were seen by staff were tractors at the Elliott Park location.

“We’re just trying to keep this event alive,” Dew-Hansen said. “We’ve held our own linked events with Nitty Gritty every year at Back Porch Pickers and Artisans. This allows us to hold a bigger event in the park behind our business.”