Confederation Landing Park is closed to the public for the next three weeks to make way for two of the biggest entertainment extravaganzas Charlottetown has seen in some time.
Charlottetown Summerfest, formerly known as the Festival of Lights, and Live with Regis and Kelly promise to keep things hopping on the waterfront in July.
Crews have been busy for days setting up for Summerfest (June 30-July 4), which features world famous Cirque du Soleil as the headline attraction.
Summerfest doesn't get underway until Wednesday but the setup for Cirque is considered quite elaborate and time consuming.
Once Summerfest wraps up, the site stays closed because Regis and Kelly will need the site from July 12-15. By the time Summerfest tears down, it will be time to start preparations for the second-most popular daytime TV show.
"The site itself is shut down approximately a week earlier than it typically would and the footprint at the site of the shutdown is much larger, obviously, for a number of reasons,' Wayne Long, events developer officer for the City of Charlottetown, said Thursday in regards to Confederation Landing Park.
Long said the site has also been closed to the public for safety and security reasons.
"Right now on site there's tents going up here, there are trailers going there, there's power lines running this way and that way. It's for the safety of everyone. There's vehicles driving around and golf carts moving around and equipment moving.'
Long said he realizes shutting the park down isn't going to sit well with a lot of people.
"There's many inconveniences that are involved in hosting large events. Events this large, logistically, they just can't be done overnight or in 24 hours.'
Confederation Landing Park has been fenced off from the south side of the parking lot to the water. There's no room for people to use the boardwalk.
"We would certainly like to thank the public for their patience and we would encourage them to use some of our other scenic parks and many walking trails throughout the city.'
Long said, ultimately, this is a chance for city residents to see the kinds of programming normally not seen on P.E.I.
