CommUNITY Jazz Jam coming to downtown area
Coordinators seeking community groups and programs to set up information booths for event
Several groups are working together to bring a CommUNITY Jazz Jam to the Forrest City downtown area this summer.
The event is scheduled for Friday, July 2, from 5 until 8 p.m. It will be held near the First United Methodist Church of Forrest City.
“We are really excited about this,” said Carla Nimocks, one of the event’s coordinators.
Nimocks said a few months prior, a friend told her they would be putting together a jazz band of different musicians from the area.
“A lot of it was going to have a patriotic theme and they were wondering if we were interested in having it come to Forrest City for the Fourth of July weekend,” said Nimocks. “So, that is where it started.”
Nimocks said at that point, she contacted several organizations, including the museum, First United Methodist Church of Forrest City, Mosaic, the St. Francis County Museum, the city and the Forrest City Downtown Revitalization Group to see if it might be something the community would be interested in hosting in the downtown area.
“The next thing you know, we were having a meeting about the Jubilation Jazz band,” said Nimocks.
Nimocks said the groups involved want to continue to provide events to bring about community unity.
“It's been a long time, with the pandemic going on, since our community could get out and just enjoy fun, family and friends. We thought this would be a perfect time to do something like this,” said Nimocks.
The event will offer activities for people to enjoy before the annual fireworks display, which is scheduled to begin right after dark at the Sports Complex.
“We wanted it to be something for folks who were getting off work or getting ready to start their holiday weekend,” said Nimocks. “That way, they could come get food and enjoy some entertainment and really come together as a community.”
Organizers are also looking for vendors from church organizations, civic groups, local businesses, social and non-profit groups.
“We are looking for organizations, churches and clubs in our town that are positive and looking to get information out about what is going on in their groups,” said Nimocks. “We want to reorient our community to all the positive things going on around us.”
According to fliers promoting the event, booths will be for informational and giveaways only. There is no cost for booths and setup will begin at 3 p.m. Vendors are asked to bring their own tables, chairs and tents. There will also be no electricity available for the booths. Two TShirts will be provided, per booth, while supplies last, to vendors who sign up before June 3.
“We want the tables that are there to give out information,” said Nimocks. “If they'd like to give out something patriotic for people who are coming to look at their booths, we'd love that. We just want people to start remembering what all we have going on in our town.”