Published: September 24, 2009 06:44 pm         

Live Music Continues Tonight at the 5th Annual Terre Haute Street Fair

TERRE HAUTE — This weekend’s Fifth Annual Terre Haute Street Fair is offering up live music in addition to its usual mix of food, art, show cars, beer and carriage rides.

“We wanted to focus on bands that play Terre Haute regularly, and to offer a loose theme each night,” said Connie Wrin, live music chair for this year’s Street Fair and owner of the Verve. “We had great rock performances last night from Max Allen and local favorite Cuba. Tonight is more of a singer/songwriter, country theme with Dan Tedesco from Chicago and Luke Pruitt from Nashville. Saturday night should be well-received with two great Hoosier blues bands: Dicky James and the Blue Flames, and the Jerome Mills Blues Band. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain!” she said.

The three day, rain-or-shine event continues today and Saturday in downtown Terre Haute at Ninth and Cherry streets.

The Street Fair combines some of Terre Haute’s most popular annual events including Bleemel Days, Crossroads ArtsFest and The Vigo County Public Library’s Family Learning Day.

It is open from 4 p.m. to midnight today, with music, a food court, the Crossroads ArtsFest and a beer garden featuring old favorites, imports and Indiana beers. Saturday, the festival will run from 10 a.m. until after midnight, with expanded offerings.

“From Family Learning Day in the morning, to a full slate of dance, comedy and musical acts on the Community Stage, to a big Children’s Area throughout the day, we really pull out the stops on Saturday,” said Andrew Conner, Executive Director of Downtown Terre Haute Inc. “And we have lots of tents up, in case the weather doesn’t cooperate.”

Conner co-chairs the Street Fair this year with Todd Nation, DTH’s 2009 president.

“I’m especially excited about the quality and variety of live music being offered this year. I have seen all of these acts play over the years, and having free live music as a backdrop for this event allows more people to get exposed to these acts. The celebration of local poet Max Ehrmann’s birthday is a unique twist this year, too. I’m looking forward to having a free piece of birthday cake at the ArtSpaces booth early Saturday afternoon, to help raise awareness of this humble Hautean who wrote the world-renowned poem “Desiderata,” Nation said.

Tonight’s offerings also include free carriage rides through downtown from 6 to 10 p.m., and First Financial Bank’s Street Fair Car Show from 6 to 9 p.m.

The Terre Haute Street Fair is a fundraiser for Downtown Terre Haute, Inc., an organization whose goal it is to revitalize downtown and make it a better place to live, work and play. There is no admission fee. DTH’s popular Farmer’s Market will move across the street on Saturday morning, but it will keep its regular hours of 8 a.m. to noon.

The Street Fair could not be possible without the support of five presenting sponsors: The Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau, Clabber Girl, Indiana State University, Time Warner Cable Media Sales and Walmart. Other major sponsors include Pepsi, Old National Bank, Arts Illiana, Vigo County Public Library, First Financial Bank, AP&S Clinic, Advantage Plus of Indiana, Sony DADC, 5/3rd Bank and Sycamore Engineering.

Brewing Heritage

The modern Street Fair grew out of the Bleemel Days brew fest, founded by Mike and Teri Rowe in the brewery district. The Rowes created Bleemel Days to celebrate the local brewing tradition that gave rise to over 30 Terre Haute breweries prior to prohibition. The brewing spirit has been reborn in the area around Ninth and Poplar streets, with M. Moggers Brewpub, Stables Steakhouse, and the Terre Haute Brewing Company recalling some of the operations of the historic brewing district.

In a nod to tradition, and to celebrate the role of our breweries the community’s history, the Bleemel Days tent at this weekend’s Terre Haute Street Fair offers a wide variety of domestic, import, and specialty beers — all priced at $3. A family-friendly beer garden features two bands each night, and free rides in a horse–drawn wagon will be available throughout the weekend. Additionally, the Crossroads Arts Fest will be open on the Hulman Center plaza until 9 each evening.

Happy birthday Max

Saturday is the 137th anniversary of Max Ehrmann’s birth, and the community is celebrating. Terre Haute’s best-known and most-beloved poet will be feted during the Street Fair with a dinner, student artwork, readings of his poems, and a birthday cake. His poem, “Desiderata” is known by millions, but the poet is less known in his own home town. The Cultural Trail coalition, led by Wabash Valley Art Spaces, is working to erect a life-size sculpture of Max on the corner of Seventh and Wabash. A Friday-night fundraiser at the Indiana Theater is sold-out, but everyone is invited to come visit the Street Fair to meet Bill Wolfe — the artist creating the sculpture, to hear some of Max’s poems, or to buy a CD recording of his poetry. At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, we will sing “Happy Birthday” and serve a giant birthday cake to the public. Student art work based on the line “…You are a child of the Universe,” from “Desideratea” can be seen in the windows at River Wools, and BookNation on Wabash Avenue, and on Sixth Street at Arts Illiana and the Deming Center through the weekend.

Children’s Area

The Children’s Area at the Street Fair will features a rock climbing wall, remote-control car-racing, face painting, hair painting, make-and-take crafts, coloring books for toddlers, a penny-carnival, an inflatable jumper, and a human gyroscope. All of these activities are free and open to the public. The Children’s Area is open from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Free rides in a horse-drawn wagon will be offered from 6 to 10 p.m. today, and from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

Union Hospital

Children’s Classic Run

At 10 a.m. Saturday, the Children’s Classic Run will start at Ninth and Cherry. Participants in this one-mile fun run will proceed up Ninth Street to ISU’s Michael Simmons Activity Center, take a lap around the track, and return to Ninth and Cherry. There is a $10 entry fee, and registration begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m. near the start/finish line.



Schedule

Today

Crossroads ArtsFest: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Bleemel Days: Live Music and Beer Garden: 4 p.m. to midnight

Dan Tedesco: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Luke Pruitt: 9 p.m. to midnight

Food court: 4 p.m. to midnight

Carriage rides: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Car Show registration: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; awards: 9 p.m.

“An Evening with Max Ehrmann”: 6 to 9 p.m. at the Indiana Theater. Tickets may be purchased by calling (812) 244-4216.

Saturday

Farmer’s Market: 8 a.m. to noon

Family Learning Day: 9 a.m. to noon

Crossroads ArtsFest: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Children’s Area: noon to 6 p.m.

Food court: noon to midnight

Free carriage rides: noon to 10 p.m.

Bleemel Days: Live Music and Beer Garden — noon to midnight

Dicky James and the Blue Flames: 5 to 8 p.m.

Jerome Mills Blues Band: 9 p.m. to midnight

Community Stage

Performance Schedule

Saturday

10 to 10:30 a.m.: Condiments Upon Request — Comedy Troupe

10:40 to 11:10 a.m.: Travis Dillon — solo guitar

11:20 to 11:50 a.m.: Belly Dancing by Zareena

12:05 to 1:05 p.m.: Cabaret: Broadway on the Bash

1:15 to 2 p.m.: Ryan “Nubbs” — comedian

2:10 to 2:35 p.m.: Jeremy Johnson — singer/guitar

2:45 to 3:10 p.m.: Women of Erin

3:20 to 4:20 p.m.: Academy of Dance