With weekend crowds expected to top 75,000, city officials are gearing up for the annual Mule Camp Market in downtown Gainesville.

"This year, we have around 190 vendor booths," said Brett Fowler, Mule Camp director and a member of the Gainesville Jaycees.

"It's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, mule camps that we've ever had."

Each year, the Gainesville Jaycees host the event, which is a fundraiser for the organization's various community outreach programs.

Vendors will be offering items and services including crafts, jewelry and face painting. Participants in the event aren't just limited to Hall County, or even Georgia for that matter.

According to Fowler, there will be vendors from five or six different states.

To prepare for such a large event, city officials will begin closing the roads in the immediate area leading into the downtown square beginning at 5 p.m. today.

Portions of Washington, Green, Bradford and Spring streets will be closed, as will portions of Brenau Avenue.

The parking deck on Main Street will be open, but it will have to be accessed from Jesse Jewell Parkway. Children's activities will be located near the square at the intersection of Washington and Main streets.

The festival will open at 10 a.m. Friday and will run through Sunday.

There will be additional road closures along the race route from about 8 a.m. until about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The race route will run from Maple to Oak streets and down to Pearl Nix Parkway, before turning up Wilshire Road and ending near Bradford Street.

Motorists are advised to avoid the areas near the road closures if possible.