PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With a focus on regional bands and free family-friendly offerings, the Presque Isle Revitalization Committee has designed a summer entertainment schedule they hope will draw residents in.
Plans include a reworking of last year’s Mondays on Main concerts to a new night and biweekly schedule, as well as the return of the every-other-Friday Movies in the Park, both free offerings intended for all ages.
The first concert will be Thursday, June 1, with the first Movie in the Park slated Friday, June 2.
“We want to bring more people downtown. It’s our hope that some of the merchants will stay open a little longer,” said City Grant Writer Kim Smith.
The big change will be to the former Mondays on Main concert series. “It used to be on Main Street. This year, it will be near the Pavilion at Riverside,” Smith said. “We will be essentially collaborating with Caribou; on the alternate weeks, they will have Thursdays on Sweden. Ours will be called Rockin’ on Riverside.”
Last year saw three Monday concerts. “We wanted to do more this year,” said Smith. “We discussed which night. We didn’t want to compete with Caribou, so we organized the schedule after checking theirs. People were already enjoying Thursday night concerts, so we figured we’d get good cross attendance.”
Smith said seven “Rockin’” evenings are in the works, with a variety of bands. “We tried to hire local bands and help out the local economy,” she said. “The bands are pretty versatile. They’re not all rock and roll. Star City Syndicate is Motown, and there will even be an AC/DC cover band. Wally and the Virginian kicks it off the first night. Then, every other Friday, there will be Movies in the Park.”
Some food vendors have committed already to be present on concert evenings: Rick and Sandy Guerrette’s Bite This food truck, Frank Hallett’s West Mountain Kettle Corn and Sweet Delight Confections.
According to Smith, the bands will set up under the pavilion and vendors will be positioned around the perimeter of that parking lot, and there may even be a car “cruise-in” along the drive. Barricades will close both ends of Riverside Drive off at 4 p.m. on concert nights. Parking will be available in the lots behind the pavilion and by the ballfield and Community Center.
“There will also be a beer vendor, who is not finalized yet,” noted Smith. Although organizers broached the possibility with a number of Presque Isle restaurants and bars, they received no response, and are investigating other options.
Smith added they don’t anticipate any problems with a beer vendor on site. “[Presque Isle Police] Chief Irwin says this will not be an issue,” she said. “Also, the time is a little different; last year it was 7 to 9:30, and this year it will only be 6 to 8:30.”
Along with the Downtown Revitalization Committee, several sponsors have signed on to help bring the concerts and movies to the public. “The concert series sponsor is Griffeth Honda, and sponsors for the movies are Taco Bell and Graves. TAMC also assists,” said Smith.
“We really do have a beautiful downtown, and we have a lot of things going on here,” she concluded. “There really is something for everyone if you look around.”
