Vendors for the first Wright City First Friday event of the season were extremely pleased with the attendance as the monthly summer festivals kicked off May 1 on First Street.
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Vendors for the first Wright City First Friday event of the season were extremely pleased with the attendance as the monthly summer festivals kicked off May 1 on First Street.
Wright City Downtown Revitalization Committee Vice President Ramiz Hakim said the common theme heard from vendors is that their booths were very successful already compared to previous years.
Several hundred people were in attendance Friday and Hakim said the committee was also very pleased with the turnout for the first event of the season.
“There is a very promising outlook for this festival,” Hakim said.
In total there were 60 vendors, but Hakim said for the July first Friday event, which will actually be held at the end of June, there will be close to 100 vendors as it is an all-day event.
Friday’s event was entitled “Get Down with Downtown” and included a musical performance by the Garden Party Band.
Upcoming events are “A World of Wine and Whiskey” on June 5, which Hakim said would be showcasing local breweries and distilleries, followed by “Red, Wright and Blue” on June 27, which corresponds with the city’s fireworks show. The summer season will close out with a “Back to School Block Party” on Aug. 7. Hakim said for the final event of the season vendors will sign up for school supplies and provide backpacks for students that will be filled with an assortment of back-to-school items.
Hakim said this is the sixth year of First Friday events, which originally stemmed from the shutdowns caused during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the resulting economic downturn there was a desire to do something special to bring a spark back to the downtown area.
“I think these events are big for us,” Hakim said. “It has turned into a block party for our town.”
He said the events give students particularly something to look forward to during the summer months as the events are structured to be very family friendly.
