CORRECTED: City Lights Festival Is Saturday

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CORRECTED: City Lights Festival Is Saturday

Posted by

Mark Beardsley

in Top Stories

Wednesday, June 22. 2011

Comments (6)

Music, food and fireworks are on the agenda for Saturday in downtown Commerce as the newly revamped City Lights Downtown Festival takes place in and around Spencer Park.

Officially, the event begins at 8:00 in the morning when the 5K Star Chase Road Race begins at Willoughby Park on Clayton Street, but once that is over there will be no more activity until 6 p.m.

That’s when Laura Monk and High Cotton, the first of three bands, takes the stage with its Americana/folk style of music and when a dozen or more booths offering food will open, according to Denise McKay, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, which organizes the event.

“We will have all the traditional festival foods,” said McKay, “barbecue, ice cream, snow cones, cotton candy, funnel cakes, hot dogs, soft pretzels, boiled peanuts, fried apple pies, Italian ice, you name it.”

There will also be a “Kids’ Zone,” featuring inflatables, face painting and games.

The highlight will be the annual pre-Fourth fireworks display, set at dark and launched from the J. Nolan Spear Jr. Public Safety Complex a block south of Spencer Park.

In the meantime, the Dalton Gang, a country/country rock group will perform at about 7:30, and the Eli Carlan Band will close out the music and lead up to the fireworks.

As of Friday, some 85 people had pre-registered for the 5K, a higher-than-usual number, McKay said.

“We’re expecting around 175 runners,” she said. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. at Willoughby Park.

The 2011 festival will differ from past events in two ways: there will be no craft booths and the booths will not open until evening. Those changes came about as the DDA sought to improve the event and came to the conclusion that the temperature was too hot for a daylong event and most of the booths did the bulk of their business after 5 p.m.

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#1 J on 06/22/11 at 10:07 PM [Reply]

The headline says Saturday, article says Friday....proofread people!

#1.1 Mark Beardsley on 06/23/11 at 03:23 PM [Reply]

Ah, if only I could blame the proofreader, but that mistake is mine, all mine.

Worse yet, I knew the event was Saturday and I still typed Friday in the story.

#2 cbw on 07/05/11 at 04:45 PM [Reply]

wasnt that the worst city lights festival every. hard to swallow being upstaged by maysville and nicholsons annual festival. see what the good old boy leadership provides. such an embarresment and waste of tax money .

#2.1 ak on 07/07/11 at 08:23 AM [Reply]

It was the exact opposite of what they said it would be. There were expensive inflatables, expensive face painting, and I think one other booth with a game for kids. There definitely was not a dozen or more booths with food. What really irritated me was the stupid ball team getting in our face every few minutes wanting you to buy this or give them money so they could go play in a ball game. It took every ounce of my strength and patience not to chew them and their coach out. I took a mother and her two children to the festival in hopes of giving them a little time to escape from the reality of the tragedy they had been living through for the last month but instead a teenager was constantly waving a bracelet in the daughters face asking her to buy one and mom had to keep saying no. I paid for the family's night out but I wasn't about to hand out money to a ball team that didnt need it near as bad as that family did and still does, especially after this past weekend. Those solicting money just to go to a game should really stop and think that the person your asking to buy from or give to you could be in more need than you, like maybe they had a family member fighting for their life and were just trying to give the kids a little time to be kids and mom was just taking a break from trying to figure out how to take care of the bills and her family.

#3 C on 07/07/11 at 05:31 AM [Reply]

I felt it was one of the best we have seen. We didnt have 10mins of 1,2 1,2 we had 3 mins of 1,2 and then a big bang which tells me the good ole boys as you call them are hearing what we say stop wasteing money. It was a good show and had a lot more bang than normal and probably was cheaper.

#4 Iremember on 07/07/11 at 07:20 AM [Reply]

It is hard to believe that something that used to be the highlight of Commerce is now just a race and fireworks. What happened to the Thursday night dinner then the Friday and Saturday night things? Just goes to show you that things like this doesn't matter to everyone now. How I miss Gearld, Rob, and Laverne! Why can't the people care like they did and still do?

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CORRECTED: City Lights Festival Is Saturday

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