Abbey Road on the River illustrates the value of purposeful park design.

As usual, I had a good time volunteering to help populate the SoIn tourism bureau booth at Abbey Road on the River. I was there Thursday and Friday during the day.

A glance at the map reveals Jeffersonville's savvy approach to the design of Big Four Park. Streets on four sides are easily fenced to suit ticket control and alcohol sales; it also makes food trucks and vending easy. There are restrooms and utilities on the middle, and plenty of room elsewhere for port-a-lets.

Unfortunately in New Albany we have two festival sites (Riverfront Amphitheater and Bicentennial Park), neither of which have it all quite the way Big Four Park does.

The finest musical act I heard during my brief time on site was the genuine Liverpudlian Gavin Pring (George Harry's Son) performing as George Harrison, playing deep album cuts from the concert for Bangladesh with the assistance of a crack international band.

I enjoy the feel of this festival. It wasn't always evident to me, but this year the vibe came together. Roughly half the total attendees travel to AROTR from elsewhere each year, and it reminded me of the spirit at beer fests like Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison WI.

A half-century after Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road on the River is underway in Jeffersonville.

From George Martin all the way to Mike Moore ...

Yesterday I was delighted to help out for a few hours at the Clark-Floyd Counties Convention Tourism Bureau's information booth, situated by the Pearl Street entrance to Abbey Road on the River.

The Big Four Bridge is open for transit, with the ramp descending to street level adjacent to the fest gate. If you decide to walk, Budweiser wants you to keep moving.

Presumably no listening, either.

The festival takes up the whole rectangular expanse of the park built around the bridge. There'll always be first-year jitters, but yesterday it appeared that the fest's infrastructure had been well-planned.

As always in autocentric America, parking stands to be the biggest issue, thought there are hotel shuttles to help with out-of-town guests. Use the damn walking bridge, Louisvillians.

Of course, me being me, the biggest question is how much the city of Jeffersonville is budgeting for five days of Beatlemania. Recalling the reluctance of City Hall in New Albany to openly discuss how much Harvest Homecoming actually costs, it's an answer I'm unlikely to receive.

But just imagine being able to house all of Harvest Homecoming inside the expanse the size of Big Four Station, engineered precisely for this purpose (and others). No merchant would be blocked, and the independent businesses nearby would be in a position to enjoy the best of both worlds.

A boy can dream. Thanks to the bureau for having me -- and by the way, it's fazed, not phased.

Abbey Road on the River starts off cloudy, but recovers, by Danielle Grady (All Things Bright and Jeffersonville)

JEFFERSONVILLE — The first day of Abbey Road on the River’s first year in Jeffersonville didn’t start out perfectly.

Rain the day before pushed back the gate opening for The Beatles festival from noon to 4 p.m.

By late-afternoon on Thursday, however, temperatures had risen into the 60s and a small crowd of Abbey Road-die hards had gathered at the foot of the Big Four Bridge awaiting the five-day festival’s beginning.

Suzie Atkins, a six-years-or-so veteran, was among the not-phased.

“There’s always bad weather the first day and things get pushed back,” she said.

Abbey Road on the River, which was previously held in Louisville for 12 years, moved across the river to downtown Jeffersonville for 2017 after the festival founder decided to look for a different spot.