What an incredible turnout! I must admit, I had quite the nerves leading up to our first Midtown Fridays Summer Block Party. With so many fantastic events happening in town that night, such as a new food truck event, the Tegan And Sara book tour at The Rio, and First Friday, I wasn’t sure if people would choose our event. Plus, being the first one of the season, I wasn’t sure if the word had spread that Midtown Fridays was back. But boy, was I wrong. It has become a running joke between Neil Pearlburg from off the Radio Show who organizes the music lineup for Midtown and I. Every week, as we arrive at the Midtown lot, I turn to Neil and say, “Neil, I have a feeling this might be the one that no one shows up to,” and Neil just laughs and replies, “Don’t worry, they always come.” And, of course, he’s always right.
It was such a pleasure to see familiar faces we hadn’t seen since last year, as well as so many new ones (check out the pictures below). The sense of community was truly heartwarming.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the vendors who made the event so special. Special mentions to Scrumptious Fish and Chips and Pana Food Truck for keeping us all well-fed.
We were particularly thrilled to introduce the debut of La Bobay El Granode Cafe. Her drinks were simply amazing!
Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to our Midtown Fridays partners: the City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Department, Off The Lip Radio Show, Lookout Santa Cruz, Shopper’s Corner, Spring Hill School, Santa Cruz Realtor – Loren Morse, Growing Up in Santa Cruz, and Kaiser Permanente. Without their support, this event wouldn’t have been possible.
Mark your calendars because we’ll be back next Friday! You can find the full lineup here. See you there!
~ Matthew
