By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

By mid-afternoon at the June 2 Alabaster CityFest at Municipal Park, Alabaster Arts Council President Adam Moseley had to park the golf cart he was using to make his rounds at the event.

“I just couldn’t drive it around anymore because there were so many people out there,” Moseley said with a laugh.

According to estimates from the Alabaster Police Department, this year’s CityFest drew a record crowd of 70,000 throughout the day. The attendance number was about 15,000 higher than last year’s event and shattered the previous high of 60,000, which was set in 2010.

“Last year, it was so hot that it brought the numbers down a little bit,” Moseley said, noting last year’s event brought hundred-degree temperatures. “It was packed all day long this year.”

Temperatures hovered around 80 degrees during most of this year’s CityFest, driving the crowd numbers up all day.

“The weather was fantastic this year,” Moseley said. “Everything went well. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

This year’s festival was headlined by country music group Lonestar, and featured a performance by alternative rock group Everclear. Other bands, such as Vallejo, Deputy 5 and 2Blu and the Lucky Stiffs , also lit up the event’s stages.

CityFest also included a car show, a Kids Fest area featuring games and pony rides and dozens of vendors.

“The food vendors definitely made a ton of money that day. They had lines all day long,” Moseley said.

The Alabaster Arts Council works all year to prepare for CityFest, and secures donations and corporate sponsors to ensure the event is free to the public every year.

Although the event celebrated its largest attendance ever on June 2, Moseley said the Arts Council is not slowing down any time soon.

“Next week, we will sit down and start planning next year’s,” Moseley said on June 5.