FINAL FLOURISH: Fridays On The Square Coda
June 26, 2018
Daily News-Record 6/23/18
HARRISONBURG — “The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street,” the famous line from blues singer Elmore James, felt appropriate Friday night as people sought shelter under Turner Pavilion to listen to one last Friday On The Square performance as the rain fell down.
“It’s very fitting,” said Bob Bersson, a member of Citizens For Downtown, the grass-roots group that organized the event. “It’s sad to lose it, but it’s been a great ride.”
The summer concert series came to an end after 28 years.
Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts, an Americana band based in Dayton, and Nighthawks, a blues band from Washington, D.C., played the final show, which moved to Harrisonburg Farmers Market’s Turner Pavilion on South Liberty Street because of the rain.
Fridays On The Square, a series of free concerts in Court Square offered every other Friday from mid-June to mid-August, began in 1990 by Citizens For Downtown, a volunteer nonprofit that was the predecessor to Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance.
“We thought one great activity to revitalize downtown was to bring a lot of people in for arts and cultural events so, one of the major ones we started was Fridays On The Square,” Bersson said. “It was very successful.”
During the first summer, the concerts were held in the parking lot of what was then Nation’s Bank, just off Court Square, where they moved the following year.
“Court Square — previously up until that point — was off-limits to everybody,” he said. “It had ‘keep off the grass’ signs everywhere, so this whole mentality was part of the change that downtown and Court Square is a public place people should be able to enjoy.”
The free concerts were made possible by Citizens For Downtown’s fundraising as well as sponsorships from businesses and organizations.
During the 1990s, downtown was filled with vacant storefronts, and there weren’t many opportunities for live music. Fridays On The Square helped change that, according to Kathy Kraft, who has been a part of Citizens For Downtown since the beginning.
“It’s certainly significant of just a grass-roots efforts of a handful of people who wanted to save their dying downtown and thought they could do something to bring some attention and movement to that,” Kraft said. “You shouldn’t underestimate what a small group who really care about something can do for their community.”
At its peak, the Friday night concerts drew in as many as 200 to 300 people. “Fridays On The Square definitely played a role” in revitalizing downtown, Bersson said.
Not only was Fridays On The Square family entertainment, it also gave musicians a career boost. Many local and regional bands played over the years, including Old Crow Medicine Show, The King Bees, Terri Allard and Tom Principato.
“As our presence grew as a venue, we had many, many bands contacting us wanting to play here from outside of the region, up and down the East Coast,” Kraft said.
For Don Kidd, Fridays On The Square was simply a fun way to spend a Friday night. Kidd was a volunteer for 20 years.
“It was a way to get people downtown, have a good time. It was free, it was family-friendly,” he said. “It’s been a very worthwhile endeavor. I’m glad I was a part of it all these years.”
Dale Diaz has attended
the concerts since the beginning. She watched kids who grew up going to the concerts bring their kids.
“Friday night parents could go out, they didn’t have to spend any money, they could listen to music, their kids usually dancing in the grass,” Diaz said. “It’s just amazing to watch kids grow up here.”
Marion Frankel said she has enjoyed the series for 25 years with her kids and grandkids. Each year, once summer rolled around, Frankel said she couldn’t wait for the concerts to begin.
“I have loved being a part of this,” she said. “It’s bonding for the community and it’s been loved by many people in the area.”
Bersson, although sad to see the concert series go, said that after 28 years, it was finally time to let it go. Citizens For Downtown decided to end Fridays On The Square, in large part, he said, because volunteers are exhausted: it takes a lot of work to plan and coordinate the events.
The series also may have been a victim of its own success. Attendance dropped off in recent years, he said, because locals have a growing number of options to listen to live music, either downtown or in county.
“It was so successful that it spawned concerts all over the area,” Bersson said. “The music scene in general is much bigger and much more diverse now. It spawned all these [concerts] that are in Dayton, Bridgewater, Elkton, all over. We were so successful that now it’s not absolutely essential.”
The concerts could continue if someone else wants to pick up the torch, he said, but for now, the series is over.
“It’ll be a positive memory,” Frankel said.
Contact Shelby Mertens at 574- 6274, @ DNR_ smertens or smertens@ dnronline. Com
“ We thought one great activity to revitalize downtown was to bring a lot of people in for arts and cultural events so, one of the major ones we started was Fridays On The Square.
■ Bob Bersson, Citizens For Downtown
Brian Elijah Smith and the Wildhearts perform during the final Fridays On The Square concert at Turner Pavilion on Friday.
FROM LEFT: Marion Frankel of Harrisonburg, Alicia Estabrook of Gloucester and Rachel Griffin of Williamsburg dance to Brian Elijah Smith and the Wild Hearts during the final Fridays On The Square.
HARRISONBURG — “The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street,” the famous line from blues singer Elmore James, felt appropriate Friday night as people sought shelter under Turner Pavilion to listen to one last Friday On The Square performance as the rain fell down.
“It’s very fitting,” said Bob Bersson, a member of Citizens For Downtown, the grass-roots group that organized the event. “It’s sad to lose it, but it’s been a great ride.”
The summer concert series came to an end after 28 years.
Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts, an Americana band based in Dayton, and Nighthawks, a blues band from Washington, D.C., played the final show, which moved to Harrisonburg Farmers Market’s Turner Pavilion on South Liberty Street because of the rain.
Fridays On The Square, a series of free concerts in Court Square offered every other Friday from mid-June to mid-August, began in 1990 by Citizens For Downtown, a volunteer nonprofit that was the predecessor to Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance.
“We thought one great activity to revitalize downtown was to bring a lot of people in for arts and cultural events so, one of the major ones we started was Fridays On The Square,” Bersson said. “It was very successful.”
During the first summer, the concerts were held in the parking lot of what was then Nation’s Bank, just off Court Square, where they moved the following year.
“Court Square — previously up until that point — was off-limits to everybody,” he said. “It had ‘keep off the grass’ signs everywhere, so this whole mentality was part of the change that downtown and Court Square is a public place people should be able to enjoy.”
The free concerts were made possible by Citizens For Downtown’s fundraising as well as sponsorships from businesses and organizations.
During the 1990s, downtown was filled with vacant storefronts, and there weren’t many opportunities for live music. Fridays On The Square helped change that, according to Kathy Kraft, who has been a part of Citizens For Downtown since the beginning.
“It’s certainly significant of just a grass-roots efforts of a handful of people who wanted to save their dying downtown and thought they could do something to bring some attention and movement to that,” Kraft said. “You shouldn’t underestimate what a small group who really care about something can do for their community.”
At its peak, the Friday night concerts drew in as many as 200 to 300 people. “Fridays On The Square definitely played a role” in revitalizing downtown, Bersson said.
Not only was Fridays On The Square family entertainment, it also gave musicians a career boost. Many local and regional bands played over the years, including Old Crow Medicine Show, The King Bees, Terri Allard and Tom Principato.
“As our presence grew as a venue, we had many, many bands contacting us wanting to play here from outside of the region, up and down the East Coast,” Kraft said.
For Don Kidd, Fridays On The Square was simply a fun way to spend a Friday night. Kidd was a volunteer for 20 years.
“It was a way to get people downtown, have a good time. It was free, it was family-friendly,” he said. “It’s been a very worthwhile endeavor. I’m glad I was a part of it all these years.”
Dale Diaz has attended
the concerts since the beginning. She watched kids who grew up going to the concerts bring their kids.
“Friday night parents could go out, they didn’t have to spend any money, they could listen to music, their kids usually dancing in the grass,” Diaz said. “It’s just amazing to watch kids grow up here.”
Marion Frankel said she has enjoyed the series for 25 years with her kids and grandkids. Each year, once summer rolled around, Frankel said she couldn’t wait for the concerts to begin.
“I have loved being a part of this,” she said. “It’s bonding for the community and it’s been loved by many people in the area.”
Bersson, although sad to see the concert series go, said that after 28 years, it was finally time to let it go. Citizens For Downtown decided to end Fridays On The Square, in large part, he said, because volunteers are exhausted: it takes a lot of work to plan and coordinate the events.
The series also may have been a victim of its own success. Attendance dropped off in recent years, he said, because locals have a growing number of options to listen to live music, either downtown or in county.
“It was so successful that it spawned concerts all over the area,” Bersson said. “The music scene in general is much bigger and much more diverse now. It spawned all these [concerts] that are in Dayton, Bridgewater, Elkton, all over. We were so successful that now it’s not absolutely essential.”
The concerts could continue if someone else wants to pick up the torch, he said, but for now, the series is over.
“It’ll be a positive memory,” Frankel said.
Contact Shelby Mertens at 574- 6274, @ DNR_ smertens or smertens@ dnronline. Com
“ We thought one great activity to revitalize downtown was to bring a lot of people in for arts and cultural events so, one of the major ones we started was Fridays On The Square.
■ Bob Bersson, Citizens For Downtown
Brian Elijah Smith and the Wildhearts perform during the final Fridays On The Square concert at Turner Pavilion on Friday.
FROM LEFT: Marion Frankel of Harrisonburg, Alicia Estabrook of Gloucester and Rachel Griffin of Williamsburg dance to Brian Elijah Smith and the Wild Hearts during the final Fridays On The Square.
