Behind The Scenes: Who Makes Double Decker Happen

The 22nd annual Double Decker Festival to be held this weekend has grown from a handful of art vendors and musicians standing on the bed of a pickup truck to now boast over 200 art vendors, dozens of musicians and a crowd of over 60,000. 
Double Decker is one of the biggest events on Oxford’s calendar and it all lies in the hands of Double Decker coordinator Lee Ann Stubbs. Stubbs has been planning and growing the Double Decker festival for over three years. Each festival takes nearly nine months to plan, beginning in August and ending with the festival the last weekend of April. 

“I start by seeking out sponsors and getting the art vendors packets and applications together,” Stubbs said. “The fall mainly consists of continuing to raise sponsorship money, working on music talent, picking the official artwork artist and getting art vendor applications online for vendors to start applying.”
Though the fall is a busy time for Stubbs and the planning committee, the real action happens in the spring with the major announcements for the festival. 
“After Christmas we go into full gear Double Decker,” Stubbs said. “We have the press conference, announce the lineup, make sure art vendors apply by the deadline, place the art vendors at their locations, confirm food vendors and everything else that goes into planning the festival.”
Stubbs works for most of the year to plan the two-day festival. Her team consists of staff members, interns, volunteers and working with other departments and organizations. 
“I have five total staff members who help with planning, three interns for the spring, and more than 60 volunteers,” Stubbs said. “We couldn’t put on the festival without the help of everyone.”
Each year as the festival grows, exciting additions and changes come along with it. This year, Stubbs said the biggest changes are there will be even more art vendors and the merchandise tent will be moved to a more accessible location. 
“We moved the festival merchandise tent to the corner of North Lamar and Jackson Ave. this year,” Stubbs said. “So please look to buy your official Double Decker merchandise there this year.”
Check out other stories on HottyToddy.com to find the Double Decker art vendors and music lineup, where to park and where not to park and increased security measures by Oxford Police. 

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Amy Goodin is a writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at argoodin12@gmail.com.
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