Several car cruise-ins will take place in Downtown Evansville this summer and fall, along with outdoor movies, concerts, a loft tour and jazz festival.
Here is a listing of plans for the events, which are being organized by the
Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville:
- An outdoor movie, concert and cruise-in will take place from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 23 on parts of Main Street and nearby streets. The event is free. The movie, which begins at 8 p.m., will be High School Musical 3.
- An outdoor movie, ballroom dancing and cruise-in will take place from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. June 11 at the same places. The event is free. The movie, which begins at 8 p.m., will be Dirty Dancing.
- The Fourth of July Freedom Festival, including a concert and fireworks show, will take place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. July 4. The event is free.
Erika Taylor, a GAGE executive officer, said organizers wanted to keep the Freedom Festival in some form, even though the event lost $290,000 last year.
“We think there is a lot of history associated with it and a lot of patriotism,” she said. “We want to keep the Freedom Festival name alive.”
- Downtown Live!, including a tour of Downtown lofts and other buildings and a concert, will take place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 6 on Main Street. The event is free.
- “Battle for Downtown,” a battle of the bands and cruise-in that will take place from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 17 on parts of Fourth Street and nearby streets. Admission is $5. Those who attend will vote for their favorite bands.
- The 3rd annual Kenny Kent Lexus Jazz, Wine & Arts Festival will take place from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 2 on parts of Main Street and nearby streets. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
- The 22nd annual Downtown Holiday parade and related events will take place from noon to 5:30 p.m. Nov. 21 on a route to include Sycamore, Fourth, Walnut and Ninth streets.
- The Downtown Candlelight Tour of Historic Houses of Worship, a self-guided tour, will take place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 30 in the Downtown district. The event is free.
In planning the events, GAGE aimed to appeal to a broad array of interests.
“We have something that involves dancing and music and we have something that involves historic architecture Downtown,” Taylor said. “We feel there is something for everybody.”
Taylor said organizers also wanted to keep events that have proved popular, such as the holiday parade and jazz-and-wine festival.
For some, though, the cruise-ins sponsored by D-Patrick Ford this year aren’t coming in great enough number.
Norris Gray, the president of the classic car club Evansville Road Knights, complained about GAGE’s decision to break with its previous practice and cease holding cruise-ins on the first Fridays of the warm months. He said many automobile clubs assumed GAGE wouldn’t change its schedule this year and planned their own events to avoid the days GAGE seemed likely to claim.
The Evansville Road Knights, for instance, had to reschedule one of its cruise-ins, usually held on the second Friday of the month.
“I think they should have left it alone like it was,” Gray said. “It brings more people Downtown than anything else they had, and at practically no cost to them.”
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