Alton Main Street is heading up the 2013 Summer Block Parties, and the next event will be held on Sat, July 20th from 4:00 until 10:00 p.m. The theme is “The BIG GIG Local Music Show”, featuring homegrown music and special activities that showcase the talent of our area.

From 4:00-5:00, the Kasimu Taylor Jazz Quartet will be performing a tribute to Miles Davis, the most famous musician to hail from Alton. Following their performance, the community will be introduced to artist Preston Jackson, who has been commissioned to create a bronze statue of Miles Davis that will be located on Third Street in Alton’s downtown entertainment district. Fundraising for the project will kick off at this event. Forms will be available to purchase memorial bricks for the plaza, and a live actor depicting the statue will be on-site for photo opportunities in exchange for a donation to the cause.

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Live original music from local bands will be performed on two stages; the lineup is as follows:

5:30 - Jam Like Ham (Rock)
6:15 - Elemental Shakedown (St. Lou-grass)
7:00 - Mars Needs Guitars (Hard Rock)
7:45 - Locrian Manor (Progressive Rock)
8:30 - Avenue (Alternative)
9:15 - The Thin Dimes (Blues / Americana / Folk)

Family entertainment will be offered from 4:00-7:00pm.; children will enjoy activities such as a planting project, hula hoops, face painting, a “street art” area and more. The whole family will enjoy meeting a Budweiser Clydesdale from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Adults will enjoy checking out the Bud Light Sport Chassis truck, a customized SUV featuring an interactive kiosk, Wi-Fi hotspot, and PlayStation 3 gaming console. A wide variety of food and beverage options will be available on-site. WLCA Radio will have a promotional booth to give away t-shirts, as well as concert tickets to The Pageant including the City and Colour concert, and the sold out Vampire Weekend show.

The All-Wheels Drive-In Car Show will be held on Sunday, June 21st, which was the re-scheduled date for the event that was rained out on Father’s Day. The 16th Annual show typically attracts between 100-150 classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles, which the public is welcome to browse on 3rd, State and Belle Streets. There is no charge for admission. 

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Registration for automobiles is from 8am-Noon, and trophies will be given in thirty-seven classes plus five specialty awards at 4pm. The fee is $15 to enter the judging, or just $10 to display your wheels. Dash plaques & goodie bags are given to the first 125 participants. This is a qualifying show for the 2013 “Best of the Best” competition.

Alton Main Street organizes this Alton tradition along with Time Machines Unlimited Car Club. From 2:00-4:00 p.m. guests will enjoy live 50’s & 60’s Rock music from the band DD Revival.

Come out for the cars and stay for the live music, 50-50 drawing, vendor displays, merchant sidewalk sale and great food. For more information on specifics of the car show, please contact Jamey Griffin at: 618-792-8901.

Visitors will also find a full day of activities in the downtown district on Saturday morning and afternoons leading up to each Block Party. From 8:00 a.m. until Noon the Alton Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market is in session at the corner of Piasa and 9th Street, and from Noon until 4:00 p.m. the “Odds & Ends Sidewalk Bazaars” will be held on Broadway’s Antique Row where downtown merchants will have tables of their wares on display beside vendors, artists and community yard sale tables.

The last event in the Block Party series will be held on August 17th, themed “Have a Nice Day” – featuring Jake’s Leg, a band that has been interpreting the music of the Grateful Dead for over 35 years. Visitors can join in the “flower power costume contest”, enjoy hula hoop demonstrations and more! The Hot Brass band from Scott Air Force Base will perform billboard and popular music hits from 4:00-6:00, and the Alton Symphony Quartet will perform symphonic versions of Grateful Dead and Beatles music from 4:15-4:45. 

For full details on these and other happenings in Downtown Alton, please visit the “Events” page of www.DowntownAlton.com.

 

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