As organizers prepare to kick off Charleston's largest celebration for the arts, this year's FestivALL will feature long-held traditions, as well as first-year attractions.
But attendees will note a few key changes made to some old favorites this year.
The opening ceremony, for instance, will be held at Appalachian Power Park, instead of at Haddad Riverfront Park. Ceremonies begin at 6:30 p.m. before the game at 7:05 p.m. A postgame concert featuring West Virginia indie-rock band Ona and Kentucky's Tyler Childers.
FestivALL director Brittany Javins said more than 90 partners helped plan this year's events.
"That's the most we've had in the time I've been involved," she said. "It's definitely a huge community effort that contributes to a lot of our new events, too."
Among those partners is the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association, which is heading this year's Woofstock and Wieners - a combination of the well-known wiener dog race and Woofstock, another pet-friendly event the association previously held in September.
Instead of its past venue at Stonewall Jackson Middle School, this year's race will be held at Magic Island, on Saturday.
Libby Ballard, secretary of the association's board of directors, said it was approached by FestivALL organizers to plan the event after West Side Main Street decided it would no longer do so.
"The primary change - since the shelter is a supporter of all kinds of dogs - is, we're adding all-breed races in the afternoon," Ballard said.
Registration for the wiener dog race begins at 9 a.m. and the race starts at 10:30.
Registration for the all-breed races runs from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and races begin at 1:30 p.m. They include three divisions separated by weight: dogs up to 25 pounds, between 25 and 50 pounds and more than 50 pounds.
Unlike past years, the all-day event will cost $2 for entry and is free for children ages 5 and under.
"It's also a fundraiser for the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association," Ballard said. "We find it very expensive to take care of all the dogs because we no longer euthanize, due to space or time."
In addition to the races, the event also will include contests for best tricks and costumes, agility and obedience training demonstrations, food trucks and a mini-concert at 4 p.m., featuring the Steve Himes Connection.
With 360 different performances and more than 140 unique events, Javins said having flexibility and taking risks are essential to FestivALL's success year after year.
"We've taken a lot of feedback over the years to map out where things are going," she said. "One thing we take into consideration [is] being aware of what else is going on in the city."
That's one reason why a preview weekend was held during the last weekend of May that featured Taste-of-ALL and FestivALT.
"With Taste-of-ALL, we heard Father's Day wasn't really a good weekend," she said. "[We were] willing to take those risks and make changes as we needed to."
West Side Main Street also is making some changes to its annual ice cream social, which previously was held in conjunction with the Wiener Dog Race.
Newly named Ice Cream and the Arts, the event will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday near the corner of Tennessee Avenue and Washington Street West, in Charleston's Elk City district.
The goal was "to make it more of an urban street fair," said Steven Romano, Charleston Main Streets West Side program director.
Attendees can enjoy sundaes and floats, and watch performances by the Academy of Arts at January's West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Light Opera Guild and others.
The Capitol Street Art Fair is another favorite that's continued to grow since FestivALL first started a dozen years ago.
"We have over 110 artists this year," Javins said. "Last year was 95, and that was the most we'd ever had."
Capitol Street, from Virginia to Washington Street East, will be closed June 25 and 26 for the art fair. Vendors also will be located in the Spyros parking lot, across from Adelphia on Capitol Street.
Residents also can expect Kanawha Boulevard to stay closed to traffic through Saturday for the Smoke on the Water Chili Cookoff at Haddad Riverfront Park on Saturday.
For a full list of events during the 12 days of FestivALL, visit www.festiv allcharleston.com.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.