A Macon parking garage will become a temporary park with music, art, yoga and games

This weekend the top level of the Mulberry Street parking garage will transform into an interactive temporary park.

On Friday and Saturday, event attendees can expect live music, yoga, an artisan market, interactive art, games and more to take over the parking deck. Event times are 6-9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday.

The project is led by Mercer University junior Cole Porter and is a winner of the 2017 Knight Cities Challenge, a competition that sought ideas from people in the 26 communities in which the Knight Foundation invests to make them more vibrant places to live and work. Porter received a $25,465 grant for the project.

“The goal of Garage PARKlet is to demonstrate how public space and community programming can be used to activate stagnant, single-use properties,” Porter said. “Compared to demolition or new development, converting space into a public park is a low-cost/high-impact solution.”

A Knight Cities Challenge grant lasts 18 months, and the ideas have to focus on at least one of the three key drivers of city success: attracting and retaining talent, expanding economic opportunity or creating a culture of robust civic engagement.

The Garage ParkLET project falls into the latter two criteria.

Porter said he is hopeful the event will provide something for everybody in Macon, and it will create a space where the community can come relax and build relations.

The free event, a partnership of NewTown Macon, Georgia Artisan and Macon Productions, will be at 440 Mulberry Street.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 11:13 AM with the headline "A Macon parking garage will become a temporary park with music, art, yoga and games."