Downtown Gadsden Inc. invited everyone to let the festive feelings of the Fourth carry over and carry them downtown July 5 for First Friday. And the activities don’t have to stop there: First Saturday on Tuscaloosa Avenue invites vendors and visitors to enjoy a street festival, stretching from 9th Street to Carver Square, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday (July 6).
Broad Street will be shut down around 3 p.m. to allow vendors, performers and antique car owners to set up. From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., downtown shops and restaurants will be open, many with specials and sales. And the fun doesn’t stop when things wind down downtown. Super Funk Fantasy performs – free of charge – at the Mort Glosser Ampitheater in the latest of the Summer Concert Series performances.
“As we celebrate our nation’s independence, let’s also remember the independently owned and operated businesses on which our country was founded,” Mary Wood of DGI. “July is Independent Retailer month, so make it a point to visit the independently owned businesses. You will be sure to find hidden treasures that you might have been missing.”
Food vendors will line the 400 block of Broad Street and downtown restaurants will offer specials. Classic cars will cruise in and be on display for onlookers to see all around downtown.
Entertainment includes: Trading Faces performs at 5th and Broad, Ballyhoo at BB&T, Kevin Moore at 3rd and Broad, and Cody Johnson at 2nd and Broad, and the always-popular line dancers in the 600 block throughout First Friday.