The lyrics of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing echoed through the Levee Park Pavilion on Thursday July 31 from 80’s tribute band Double Down as residents watched from lawn chairs and picnic blankets. Vendors sold hot sauce and stuffed animals, cocktail mixes and jewelry while lines snaked before food trucks. Children screamed as balls bounced off a parachute, rolling into the crowd.
Summer in Levee Park is in full swing.
The newly expanded Music + Markets event from the city’s Levee Park programming brings live music, vendors, food trucks and bustle to Levee Park nearly each Thursday throughout the summer.
The event is a combination of the Music in the Parks series and local artisanal market events. This year boasts 12 Music + Market events from June through September 11, double the number of markets from 2024.
That consistency was a particular focus for the revamped event said Paige Marschall Bigler, Recreation Programming Specialist for the city of Hastings. The goal was the make the events an expectation each week so that families and residents would rely on it rather than having look up times to see when it was.
The first event of the season on June 5 has yet to be topped for attendance with some 1500 attendees. The event, which coincided with the last day of school, featured ABBA tribute band AbbaSolutely Fab and remains a highwater mark for attendance.
Other events have drawn anywhere from 500 to over 1000 attendees.
Another new addition to the event is the inclusion of a kid’s zone that provides activities for the little ones. Each week a sponsor provides activities for the kid’s zone, meaning activities stay fresh week to week.
The push towards making the event more family friendly has largely worked, according to Marschall Bigler: “There’s a lot more families down here this year.”
For the market, many vendors are Hastings residents, attracted to the proximity of the market and the relatively low fee for entry.
Easy access for fledgling vendors was always part of the markets said Economic Development Coordinator Alex Menke. The idea for the burgeoning market was to allow new vendors who are “getting their feet below themselves,” to start selling easily and locally.
In the market’s first year, in fact, vendors didn’t have to pay anything for a booth, but that format dramatically increased the number of vendors not showing up to markets.
Now the program charges $15 per event which allows vendors to not only pick and choose their nights but still keeps the fee below other day rates in the area.
One vendor who got her start in last year’s market is Mad Madame Miller’s Menagerie, run by Hastings local Ashley Miller.
Miller creates a number of products from foraged and grown goods ranging from cocktail mixes to balms to bone jewelry.
Given that broad spread of goods, Miller was initially stumped as to what to call herself.
“The name has to encompass all the random nonsense I’m going to make,” laughed Miller.
The local markets were an initially attractive event for Miller because of how close the events were as a Hastings resident, and their availability on weeknights.
While Miller has “always made things,” from foraged and grown goods, she had to ramp up quantities for the events this year.
From the newly combined event, “it’s been awesome as far as foot traffic,” said Miller.
Even halfway through this year’s Music + Market programming, the event is slated to continue.
“I don’t see it going anytime soon,” said Menke.