It’s not summer yet, but the Ross Street Patio is whetting appetites for outdoor concerts with Thursday shows through April and May.
Stephen Scott and Guests will perform this Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. On April 21st it will be Kayla Williams, and on the 28th Jay Bowcott and Syd Zadravec will entertain.
May’s Ross Street Patio performers are the Rebecca Raabis Family Band on the 5th, James Adams on the 12th, and Dean Ray on the 19th.
A fuller slate of Patio summer music programs will kick off after the Victoria Day weekend. And Red Deer’s Downtown Business Association plans to open the first Downtown Farmer’s Market of the season on May 25.
Meanwhile, the DBA is also offering a Host It! support program to try to generate more special events and festivals in the downtown. The DBA will work with local event organizers to present events downtown from other locations.
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In-kind support is being offered, including advertising, special event permit assistance, items like tables and chairs, and even cash support.
Some events already organized through this DBA-subsidized program include: CentreFest which will run alongside the Meet the Street Festival during the first weekend of September, and the Children’s Festival, which is being organized in partnership with Family Services of Central Alberta for June 3rd and 4th.
DBA executive-director Amanda Gould is also planning to launch a brand-new project downtown — a Long Table Dinner that’s set to happen later in the year.
If anyone is interested in launching a downtown event, the DBA is interested in working in partnership with organizers.
“Downtown has some great unusual locations to host,” like the alleys that have been decorated with murals, said Gould. She noted the DBA can help with the installation of multicoloured programmable lights and music – “all of which can make the perfect backdrop to your event.”