ASHLAND — Hello friends! It’s been a while since we’ve last discussed the grooviness of downtown Ashland, but even though it’s been a week or two, that doesn’t mean downtown isn’t hopping and full of adventure and good cheer … because it is.
In fact, as our friends and downtown peep Doug just described it, this weekend is Ashland Main Street’s Christmas in July. if you’ve been wanting a reason to come downtown and check it out, Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th are your lucky days.
First up, Friday. The Sundown Sounds concert series continues with Old Enough to Know Better, an acoustic duo who has been knocking the socks off of people all over the area, and are looking forward to doing the same in downtown Ashland.
They will be playing in PNC Park, at Main and Orange, from 6-8 p.m. Friday. We will have food from Dan’s Deli, as well as a cash bar. Bring a chair if you want, or stand up and rock it out.
There will be live music downtown with a cash bar. This entire concert series has been generously sponsored by Coldwell Banker Ward Real Estate, so if you see any of those peeps, especially Rob, tell them thanks!
While downtown, check out the local vendors who are continuing to stay open late on Fridays.
Willow & Vine and Clothes Minded Boutique are staying open until 5:30 p.m.; Ashland Bike Company, Bagnabit, Bikesmith, Fig & Oak and Whoopsie Daisy Bowtique are staying open until 6 p.m., Ashland Books and Farm & Home Hardware are staying open until 8 p.m. and Masterminds, Bullshooters, Linder’s, the Taproom on Main, Riley’s and Uniontown Brewing Company are staying open even later.
Saturday has a full slate, too.
First up is the 8th annual Downtown Dream Cruise and Car Show. This event is incredible, and that’s coming from someone who is only vaguely aware of the difference between a ’55 and a ‘56 Bel Air. (It’s the headlamps, right?)
If you are into cars, this is a great car show. You are right downtown, with oodles of ambiance. There will be two food courts, a DJ, the Kroc Center Band, a fancy new slot car drag strip for kids courtesy of Municipal Court Judge John Good, door prizes, a 50/50 raffle, vendors galore, a cruise after the show, goody bags, dash plaques, and oh yeah … about 600 of the sweetest cars, trucks, and motorcycles around.
If you aren’t into cars, this is a great opportunity to look at them, and also check out all that our downtown has to offer. Great restaurants and shops, a gold buy-back special, a downtown scavenger hunt, Schine’s Theatre poster raffles, and the streets teeming with people walking around checking it all out.
Either way, every dollar that you spend downtown that is car show-related, from registration to buying a t-shirt to participating in the 50/50, goes to Shop With a Cop, the group that helps out local children in need. Thousands of dollars for that group has been raised locally, allowing them to expand their reach, from helping under 100 kids to almost 200 last year.
The show runs from noon to 4 p.m., and registration opens at 10 a.m.
But wait…there’s more. Seriously. We decided that the car show day is so awesome and amazing and incredible, why not extend it a little bit? So we are.
Stay downtown after the show, or come down just for this, but make sure you end the day at PNC Park (still at Main and Orange), for the car show After Party from 5 to 8 p.m. There will be food trucks from Charcoal Mafia and Flamingo Jack’s and a bar courtesy of the Uniontown Brewing Company.
County Line, that amazing local band who has just dropped a new single, will provide the music.
There will be 26 hours of fun in downtown Ashland this weekend, from sundown to sunup and sundown again.
