Summer forecast downtown: High chance of Friday fun

LACONIA — Downtown will be a hotspot of fun this summer, when block parties on Canal Street return for a third year as Concerts on Canal, alongside the Belknap Mill’s First Friday events.

Dan McLaughlin, owner of NH Vintage Vinyl, is organizing Concerts on Canal in partnership with Celebrate Laconia. He said the events are important.

“There's a lot of people in the area looking for things to do, not just locals, but the tourists that come in for the weekend,” he said. “It's on us to make sure that we step up, especially as businesses, and as patrons of downtown, to support these things so they keep going.”

Concerts on Canal will be like the block parties, but bigger. Events will revolve around music from a variety of live performers and food trucks. The concert series will feature kids’ games, as well as adult activities like corn hole. The most significant change, however, moves the fun from Saturday to Friday. Organizers will also put them on twice a month, on the first and third Fridays, from June to August. One night will move to Saturday, July 5, because of Independence Day. McLaughlin floated the idea of an additional, final shebang in August.

Meghan Daubenspeck, manager of Piedmont Print & Frame, said she participated in the block parties last year, and mounted and framed posters promoting the event in the store window. She’s excited for the changes.

“I think it would be really cool this summer to have more stuff going on downtown on a Friday night,” she said.

Concerts on Canal will be held from 5 to 9 p.m., with the band playing 5:30-8:30 p.m.

McLaughlin is also trying to keep things flexible. Last year, a few events got rained on, leading to lower attendance. If it rains this year, he will move the band into his record store, where people can get a more intimate musical experience. He hopes this will keep people there longer, and recalled one night it rained hard before a band’s set.

“I saw people get out of their car, it down poured for like 15 minutes, and then everybody ran right back to their car and left,” he said.

As the event grows bigger, McLaughlin is looking for sponsors to join The Laconia Rotary Club, which is already on board to support the concerts. For more information, contact nhvintagevinyl@gmail.com.

Melissa McCarthy’s business The Studio is not on Canal, but just around the corner on Main. During the block parties last year, she kept her shop open late. It's too soon to tell if she'll do the same this year. If she closes, she plans to put a note on the door saying people can find her on Canal enjoying herself.

“The goodwill and energy of downtown benefits all the businesses,” she said.

Concerts on Canal will now run at the same time as the Belknap Mill’s First Fridays, which include a music performance as well as free admission to the museum, featuring a new exhibit each month.

The first concert was May 2, and the series continues through September, offering locals and visitors a choice in Friday night entertainment. The mill's concerts are sponsored by Laconia Putnam Fund, Lakes FM, Hawk 104.9, and Lakes Region Community College.

Last year, the Arts in the Park event only featured music. Mill staff will unveil a new exhibit space in June. Associate Director Jill Desruisseaux thinks it is a good combination.

“Our mission is arts, history and education, so it's kind of a nice way to celebrate our mission and offer a really great art and concert experience for the community.”

The museum opens at noon each first Friday, with an artist's reception at 5 p.m., then the concert at 6 p.m.

In September, First Friday will host the mill's seventh annual Sock Hop. It’s a throwback to the 1950s and '60s, inviting classic cars to line Beacon Street East, and a performance by The Rockin’ Daddios. Root beer floats are offered for sale as a fundraiser. The term "sock hop" comes from the tradition of taking off shoes and dancing in socks during that era. Desruisseaux thought it was perfect name.

"It’s just fun to call it a sock hop, because we were a hosiery mill, and we made socks here until 1969,” she said. “It's the Belknap Mill Sock Hop.”

For the one day Concerts on Canal and First Fridays overlap, Desruisseaux thinks it adds excitement to downtown.

“It has potential to be a really fun night for the whole city,” she said. “It gives people in the Lakes Region a lot of options for free, family fun.”