Popular Fresno event is back for 2025 with a new tool to plan your festival day

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Organizers of the ever-popular Tower Porchfest are rolling out a new tool to make sure festival-goers can see exactly what they want to see at the beloved event in Fresno’s historic Tower District.

Jeremy Hofer and Joshua Defisher with Tower Porchfest say last year’s event featured 75 porches and over 200 bands and performers – and they want this year’s crowd to be able to see everything the occasion has to offer.

“It was huge to see an outpouring of community that came out for it last year,” Hofer said. “We’re expecting an even bigger turnout.”

Following last year’s success, Defisher says it was important to help people plan their days and navigate everything that is Porchfest.

Last year, the Porchfest team launched a map feature to help people find out which band was playing where and at what time. For 2025, organizers putting the finishing touches on a “Plan Your Day” tool.

Visitors will tell the “Plan Your Day” tool what they want to see at Tower Porchfest – and it will pull items and performances off the map, create a list of them, and work to create a route around the selection.

Hofer says porch sign-ups are still active – but will close soon. He and Defisher urge anyone interested in signing up to be creative with their porch.

“Some of my favorite porches [last year were] yoga on the lawn. There was a porch that did a grand opening of a lending library in front of their home and they had a book reading there,” Hofer said. “Get creative with it.”

Porch sign-ups close on March 4.

Hofer and Defisher also say they want festival-goers this year to make the most out of all the transportation amenities available on the day.

“I highly suggest putting a bike rack on your car, putting your bike on it, driving over to Fresno City College, parking there and taking the bike around from there,” Defisher said.

Fresno City will have relaxed parking for Porchfest 2025 just like last year.

Defisher also said that those walking can also take advantage of the trolley going around Tower District.

Hofer says he hopes this year’s Porchfest will embody the spirit of community that the first Porchfest did, given how divided neighbors seem today.

“Porchfest really was birthed out of the pandemic and during a time when we couldn’t be together physically,” Hofer said. “I think now in this year it’s even more meaningful.”