Main Street plans last bash; prepares for MusicFest XXX
Main Street El Dorado may be in full-scale planning mode for MusicFest XXX this fall, but the organization is also looking to close out summer with one “Last Bash.”
The final 2017 installment of Showdown at Sunset and the Murphy USA Summer Concert Series is set for Aug. 26 in Downtown El Dorado.
The pair of events will anchor an afternoon of activities that will begin at 2 p.m.
Collectively called “Summer’s Last Bash,” activities include water slides, water balloons and other water toys, a local-celebrity dunking booth, rock painting, free horse and carriage rides and more — all of which will be centered on Elm Street, the north side of the Union County Courthouse.
Cruise Night, a display of classic cars, hot-rods and other novelty automobiles, will also be held from 4 until 6 p.m. on North Washington on the west side of the Union County Courthouse.
The events are free and open to the public. Concessions will be available for purchase.
Those who plan to participate in rock painting should bring their own rocks. Paint and brushes will be provided.
Attendees are also encouraged to bring their lawn chairs.
Main Street board members previously said they were looking to expand the Aug. 26 installment of its summer events into a daylong affair with family activities to complement Showdown and the Concert Series.
Showdown will be held at 6:30 p.m. in its usual spot on the east of the courthouse.
The Summer Concert Series will follow at 7 p.m. with opening acts Blackstrap Molasses and The Burners and headliner David Lee Murphy, who is known for several Top 10 country singles in the 1990s, including “Dust on the Bottle,” “Party Crowd,” Every Time I Get Around You,” “The Road You Leave Behind,” and “Loco.”
Cash Mob
On Aug. 29, the Main Street El Dorado Cash Mob will convene at 5 p.m. at The Spot between PJ’s Coffee and The El Dorado Creamery.
The name of the business that will be mobbed for August will be announced at the time, and participants will then move to the business.
Beth Brumley, executive director of Main Street, said the Cash Mob meeting time was changed to allow time for people to get off work.
The time had initially been 4 p.m.
“That has not worked out well, so we’re going to keep trying until we find what works,” Brumley said.
Cash Mob is a retail promotion in which a business is selected to be “mobbed” at a prescribed time.
The name of the business is typically kept secret and revealed just before the Cash Mob starts.
Participants then converge upon the business to shop, agreeing to spend a set amount, usually $10 - $20.
The July Cash Mob was held at All About Flowers.
MusicFest
Main Street is finalizing plans for MusicFest,
its flagship fundraiser, which is set for Sept. 29 – Oct. 1.
The 30th anniversary of the annual weekend festival will be held in conjunction with the five-day grand opening of the Murphy Arts District on Sept. 27 – Oct. 1.
Main Street is partnering with MAD to present the headliners for MusicFest.
Acts that will perform in the MAD amphitheater in the area of Locust and Hill on the nights of Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 will double as the Musicfest headliners for those nights.
Those shows will be ticketed.
Tickets must be purchased from MAD, and they are on sale now in the MAD box office, 113 S. Washington (at the intersection with Cedar), online at eldomad.com, and by calling 877-940-3334.
Meanwhile, Main Street will offer free activities, including musical performances, during the day on the downtown square.
Main Street is working to clarify the Music-FestMAD partnership.
Brumley suggested that Main Street set up an informational booth at the SouthArk Outdoor Expo, which is set for Sept. 9 at the El Dorado Conference Center.
“There’s so many questions about MusicFest. It’s confusing what’s going on, so we can be there to answer people’s questions,” she said.
Main Street’s presence at the Expo will be twofold, Brumley said.
“We’ve talked to the downtown merchants about maybe offering some specials to draw the crowd downtown,” she said.
Mayor Frank Hash offered to set up a portable restroom trailer instead of Porta Potties that are traditionally positioned around the square during Muisc-Fest-MAD events.
Pamela Griffin, MAD treasurer and chief financial officer, said MAD will set up Porta Potties on the east side of the amphitheater.
Hash said the city is considering the northeast corner of Jefferson and Cedar to set up the trailer.
“I’m offering to put up a latrine trailer. It’s a double-wide. Porta Potties are not attractive,” Hash said.
Other business During the economic vitality report, Brumley announced that Coco’s Cottage, which specializes in children’s clothing, relocated from North College to 108 N. Washington and opened with a Midnight Madness event on Aug. 4.
Coldwell Banker, Dumas and Associates Real Estate moved from North Washington to 311 E. Main late last month, Brumley said.