Information for performers

To preserve street parking for attendees, RNYE will not reserve spaces on the streets for performers this year. There will be some reserved parking in lots, but the bulk of the performer parking will be at the school complex. There will be a shuttle running between the schools and the downtown. We will not ask early performers to share parking with late performers this year. Your parking space is yours for the evening.

This plan relies on coordination between the members of each group. A parking information email specific to you or your group has been sent to you or your leader (or soon will be). Please ensure that everyone in your group knows where to park and how to get around

Except for two spaces on the street near the Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport, all reserved parking will be in five lots: the Rockport Music lot, the Rockport Public Library lot, the Town Hall lot, the Rockport Baptist Church lot, and the First Congregational Church of Rockport lot. The spaces in the Rockport Music, Library, and Town Hall lots are numbered, and parking assignments are by lot and number. Maps for these three lots showing the space numbers are below. They were also sent as part of your parking information email. There will be no signs at individual parking spaces this year.

The balance of the parking will be at the Rockport High School parking lot. The GPS address is 24 Jerdens Lane. If you are part of a group, consider meeting at the school and carpooling for the three-minute drive downtown. You can make plans to return to the school together, or you can make use of the shuttle.

The shuttle will be operated by the Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA). It will run from 5:00pm on December 31 until 12:30am on January 1.

The pick-up/drop-off space for the shuttle at the school complex will be at the entrance to the John Lane Auditorium, where there is some protection from the weather. From the school, the shuttle will take South Street (which becomes Mt. Pleasant Street), go through Dock Square to Main Street, turn left on Jewett Street and left again on Broadway, and turn right on Mt. Pleasant Street and back to the school. The shuttle can be flagged down anywhere along its route.

There will be two street closures. The Rockport Police Department will manage the closures and direct traffic onto detour routes during the closures.

Lower Broadway (School Street to Mt. Pleasant Street), Stone Barn Lane, and the library parking lot will be closed to vehicles from 5:45 to 6:15 for the children’s Parasol Parade. Anyone assigned to the library parking lot should be aware that they will be unable to enter the lot or depart from it during that time. To avoid lower Broadway as it completes its downtown loop, the shuttle will turn right from Broadway onto School Street, left onto High Street, right on Mt. Pleasant Street, and back to the school.

Dock Square (Broadway to the Rockport Music parking lot) will be closed to vehicles from 11:45 to 12:15 for the Ball Drop. To avoid Dock Square as it begins its downtown loop, the shuttle will turn left onto Broadway, left onto School Street, left onto High Street, right on Mt. Pleasant Street, and back to the school. So performers from the Main Street venues will have to either walk over to Broadway to get the shuttle or wait until Main Street reopens.

There will be an area to unload instruments and equipment from vehicles and load it again for each venue. A list of unload/load zones and reserved parking spaces is below.

Each venue will have a paid manager and an assistant. Their responsibilities include serving as stagehands, so they can help with your equipment and watch over it while you park or retrieve your vehicles.

Baptist Church – church parking lot
Rockport Public Library  – none (performers have parking spaces in library lot near building)
Spiran Hall downstairs – first space on Broadway east of School Street
Spiran Hall upstairs – sidewalk along School Street in front of Spiran Hall
Rockport Art Association and Museum – none (performers have parking spaces in Rockport Music lot near building)
Congregational Church Fellowship Hall – angled space in front of 12 School Street entrance next to parking kiosk space
Congregational Church sanctuary – third parallel space on School Street at foot of steps before fire hydrant
UU church – none (performers have parking spaces near church)
Shalin Liu – loading zone directly in front of theatre