NORMAL -- For the third and final time, this weekend's Sugar Creek Arts Festival will divide itself between the streets of uptown Normal and the greenery of the Illinois State University quad.

"We're 99 percent sure about that," said Steve Westerdahl, community development director for the town of Normal. "Barring any unforeseen complications, the festival will move entirely back uptown next year."

Originally, this year's event was to have been returned to the streets. But an expanded road construction schedule, announced in late spring, changed that plan.

Come the summer of 2010, the only work that might still be ongoing, Westerdahl added, will be cosmetic issues involving plants and landscaping. "The road work will be done this fall."

For this year's 26th festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, the bulk of the artists - 109 of them, to be exact - will be situated on and around the quad.

Also on the quad is the festival's entertainment stage (see accompanying schedule of performers).

New to the space will be a parent-child chalk drawing contest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, with parent-kid teams competing for prizes on a sidewalk stretch near the Old Main Bell.

The McLean County Arts Center is taking registration until noon Friday at (309) 829-0011.

Meanwhile, another 30 artists will be located along the north side of North Street, up to School Street, Westerdahl said.

Also off-quad will be a food court, in the parking lot immediately east of the Alamo II; a children's activities area, in the Watterson Commons area, west of the Watterson Towers cafeteria; an arts group area featuring special activities, in front of Hovey Hall on School Street; and a Friends of the Constitution free bicycle parking area at the In Exchange Sculpture Garden area where School Street is closed.

Despite the closures and detours, ample free parking will be available both days, Westerdahl said.

From the town's end, the College Avenue parking deck will be open, he said, as will ISU's School Street and University Street decks. In addition, free parking will be available at the Bone Student Center lot.

Doug Johnson, director of the McLean County Arts Center, a sponsor of the event, has watched the festival's quad-sharing era evolve from less than desirable to very desirable in two short years.

"The first year, it was a hard sell for some artists," he said, "because they thought it would be too far off the beaten track. By the second year, we had a hard time getting them off the quad after they found how much cooler and incredibly picturesque it was there."

Both Johnson and Westerdahl agreed, however, that the festival was born as a downtown Normal event 26 years ago, and must retain that identity through the "uptown" era.

"It's been great sharing the quad, and ISU has been a gracious host" Westerdahl said. "But one of the festival's main purposes has been to expose the public to the good stuff uptown, and we want to get the people back to experiencing all of that."

At a glance

What: Sugar Creek Arts Festival

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Uptown Normal and Illinois State University quad

Admission: Free

Information: (309) 829-0011

Sugar Creek entertainment

Following is the complete live entertainment lineup for this year's Sugar Creek Arts Festival:

Saturday

10 a.m.: Sugar Creek Cloggers

11 a.m.: The Indras

1 p.m.: Sister Groove

3 p.m.: Sally Weisenburg & The Famous Sidemen

Sunday

11 a.m.: Midwest Jazz Collective

12:45 p.m.: Joe Metzka

2:30 p.m.: Hip Pocket