GREENVILLE — This year, Main Street Greenville will offer a new event for July’s First Friday. The focus is a 1950s inspired theme, highlighting memories that once took place on Broadway, the main drag of downtown Greenville.
Fire up the engine of your hot rod and take a cruise down memory lane on Friday, July 1, from 6 to 9 pm.
“The main street of any community holds unique memories to those living there. Over the years, individuals have shared their memories of downtown Greenville with our organization, and we wanted to create a fun event to capture those memories,” said Amber Garrett, Executive Director of Main Street Greenville.
The festivities will include music by The American Kings, a ping-pong ball drop, a hula hoop contest, a photo booth and a showing of the film “Back to the Future.”
The American Kings will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. on 5th Street between the Coffee Pot and Michael’s Fine Clocks and Jewelry. They are a Dayton band who still allow the words “sock” and “hop” to make perfect sense together. With their true renditions of your favorite rock ‘n’ roll songs, you can fully trust a high-energy and fun show. The band’s performance is sponsored by Braund Pope and Oliver-Floyd Funeral Homes.
The ping-pong ball drop, sponsored by Greenville National Bank and Second National Bank will take place on 3rd Street at 9:10 p.m. sharp, Main Street Greenville will be dropping 500 ping-pong balls from the fire escape of Bach to Rock. The ping-pong balls will have colored dots on them, each color representing a different prize level.
The hula hoop contest will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. and will be located on 5th Street between Wayne Cinema and American Title Resources. There will be prizes offered to those who can hula hoop the longest.
The photo booth will be located at Chillz Frozen Yogurt, 331 S. Broadway, from 6 to 9 p.m. The photos will be printed in black & white capturing that 1950s essence.
Theater on Third, an outdoor movie experience, will be showing the film, “Back to the Future.” The “theater” will be located in the parking lot behind Bach to Rock. The movie will be projected onto the Canteen Shop building, 120 W. 3rd St. The movie is free and open to all, sponsored by Greenville National Bank.
There will also be soda fountain drinks, smiley face cookies, a “penny candy” station and guests are encouraged to dress up in 50s attire! Ladies, think poodle skirts and saddle shoes. Gentleman, get ready to roll up the sleeves of your favorite white t-shirt.
In addition, many downtown businesses will be open late. Reservations for dinner are encouraged, as downtown locations will be busy.
Main Street Greenville is a nonprofit organization committed to stimulating and supporting revitalization efforts, historic preservation and economic growth in Historic Downtown Greenville. To learn more about the organization, visit www.MainStreetGreenville.org or call 937-548-4998. You can also like the organization on Facebook to receive updates on a regular basis (www.facebook.com/mainstreetgreenville).
