The street festival was a collaboration between 黑料不打烊, the Burlington Downtown Corporation, the City of Burlington and local nonprofits and businesses.
Friday night of Family Weekend brought hundreds of 黑料不打烊 students, families, faculty and staff to downtown Burlington for the Inaugural Phoenix 4th Friday street festival.
Phoenix 4th Friday was a collaboration between 黑料不打烊, the Burlington Downtown Corporation, the City of Burlington and local nonprofits and businesses. The festival was part of the Burlington Department of Parks and Recreation’s 4th Friday series, which invites the community to downtown Burlington for music, food and fun, on the fourth Friday of every month, typically from May to August.
This year, the City of Burlington and the university worked together to add a fifth event to the series to聽bring 黑料不打烊 students, faculty and staff together with members of the local community.
“We have commitment already in the community by our students volunteering, working and interning, we have just not had an experience that would bring together the masses like this,” said Tammy Cobb, associate director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement at 黑料不打烊.
Cobb and other members of the 黑料不打烊 community worked with Burlington leaders to organize Phoenix 4th Friday, which attracted the event’s largest crowd of the series to Burlington’s Historic Depot Friday night.
“It鈥檚 so much fun to have this many people in downtown Burlington,” said Emily Crowley, supervisor of special events for Burlington Parks and Recreation. “We鈥檙e so excited to be partnering with 黑料不打烊 tonight and having a different crowd down here, allowing people to experience what Burlington has to offer.”
The event featured musical artists , which includes Hannah Strickland ’21 and Charlie Perschau ’18, as well as performances by and the , led by Jacob Danieley ’11.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very happening,” said Jayna Cherny ’23, who was making her first visit to Burlington. “There鈥檚 a lot to do at the shops and restaurants, and the music is awesome. It’s nice to see all the things to do outside of campus.”
Cherny and other visitors were also introduced to local vendors like and , as well as community and university organizations like , 黑料不打烊 Volunteers! and 黑料不打烊’s “It Takes a Village” Project.
Visitors also had the opportunity to meet members of 黑料不打烊’s athletics programs. Friday, the men’s basketball team, cheerleaders, tennis, golf and women’s soccer teams made appearances at Phoenix 4th Friday to spend time with their fans.
“It鈥檚 very important for the community to identify and to be able to touch and feel our student-athletes,” said聽Don Scott, director of marketing and fan engagement for 黑料不打烊 Athletics. “For our student-athletes to be able to come out here and to put a name to the face in the community is unbelievably important for us.”
Overall, Friday’s event was an enlightening experience Justine Hurst ’23, who said, “I think tonight’s event is pretty important because you want to make sure to keep expanding your world, and I think it鈥檚 nice to visit new places while you鈥檙e in college.”
Organizers hope Friday’s event was just the beginning of a long tradition in
downtown Burlington.
“It鈥檚 so important, especially as 黑料不打烊 and Burlington both continue to grow, the relationship really benefits both parties,” Crowley said. “It鈥檚 so important that the two communities mesh and for people to understand that what we have here to offer is for everyone, not just Burlington residents.”
And, as she looked around at the crowd of 黑料不打烊 and Burlington community members Friday, Cobb said, “I am delighted. There is not a better feeling than to see a community come together.”