What You Need To Know About This Weekend's Pecan Street Festival

The bi-annual Pecan Street Festival is happening in downtown Austin this weekend.

The festival was created in 1978 as a way to bring life back to the area. Austin’s famous Sixth Street used to be called Pecan Street.

“The idea was to preserve the historical appeal of the street, while revitalizing the downtown area,” said Shannon Sedwick, president of the Pecan Street Association.

“All of the money we make goes out to different projects on 6th Street and the downtown area,” Sedwick said. “We have given money most recently to Bastrop wildfire relief and the $7,500 was matched by Time Warner to give to the Red Cross for wildfire relief.”

In the past the event has attracted more than 300,000 people, generating an economic impact of around $43 million.

Click here for the full music lineup.

Click here for the full list of vendors.

Click here for the festival.

The festival has also added two new healthy events this year, a 5K and some pilates classes. Read about it here.

[PHOTO: Pecan Street Association]