Crawfordsville will join a growing national tradition Saturday as the Montgomery County Visitors Bureau hosts the first Crawfordsville Porchfest, a free community event featuring live music, local food vendors and family activities.
The inaugural event is scheduled from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on West Main Street between Marshall and Blair streets. Four musicians will perform simultaneously from porches along the street while attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the performances throughout the evening.
Executive Director Heather Shirk said the goal is to create a nostalgic atmosphere of neighborhood and people coming together.
“So basically the idea we want is kind of a street festival. People will bring their chairs, lawn chairs, blankets. They can set up wherever they want in the street, near whatever musician they want to listen to,” Shirk said.
The lineup includes Elias Gomez, who appeared on Season 28 of “The Voice,” earning four chair turns and making it to the battle rounds. Other performers include local artists Kenn and Keller and Kacey Burton, along with Indiana native Drew Lasley.
Food vendors will be located behind the Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau and include Norvells BBQ and Catering, The Table Spoon, Greek’s Pizzeria, Smitty D’s Hot Dog Cart, Sassy Slushies, Tacos El Pampano and Keke’s Kravings.
A children’s area will be available at Kathy Steele Park, sponsored by New Hope Christian Church.
Shirk said the idea for Porchfest grew from the city’s success in hosting the Motocross of Nations last year and a desire to add another community event to the summer calendar.
“After the Motocross of Nations, we realized our community proved we could do big things, and we wanted to add something,” Shirk said.
With no major events for the first weekend of August, Shirk said it seemed like the perfect time. “We’d seen Porchfest in other locations. In some areas it’s very large, so we thought we could try something like that in Crawfordsville.”
Associate Director Stephanie Timmons said they also wanted to recreate the sense of community that comes from neighbors gathering and being outside.
“I think when we started planning this, we were thinking about the way life used to be, where people would sit on their porches, spend time together, walk the streets and talk to their neighbors,” Timmons said. “When we came up with the idea that ‘where music feels like home,’ it all just fit together.”
Porchfest T-shirts are available for purchase at the Fusion 54 building and will also be sold during the event.
Event sponsors include Ruoff Mortgage, Tri-County Bank & Trust, John Downey Realtor and DES Civil and Environmental Engineering.