Friday night event designed to bring and keep people in town

The organizers of a new local event are taking a "Field of Dreams" approach - if you build it, they will come.

Fourth Friday on Main in Forest City will begin on May 27, and the event is designed to help draw people to the downtown area, said Shelly Gref. Gref, along with other members of Main Street Forest City, are part of a new committee recently appointed by Forest City Town Council. The group, she explained, is similar to the Town of Rutherfordton's Rutherford Town Revitalization.

"The idea is to have our event on a different Friday night from when Rutherfordton is having FUNC," Gref stated. "Their event is the first Friday and ours is the fourth, but it's a way to keep people in the county on Fridays."

Gref began to develop the grassroots event after talking with Robbie Greene, who created a Small Town, Big Meet event on social media. During that event, Gref explained, car and motorcycle enthusiasts met in downtown Forest City to hang out and support local businesses.

Fourth Friday will feature acoustic music performances up and down Main Street as well as a kids' space with sidewalk chalk and free face painting. Vendors have been invited to take part in the event as well, and booth spaces are free.

"We'll have booths from the coffeehouse down to White Walls, past Ellie May's and up to Twisted Pear," Gref said. "The restaurants will be open and we'll have vendors with popcorn, cotton candy and candied nuts."

The event will involve community as well, she continued. Face painting will be provided by students who are working to gain hours as part of the McNair Program at the local high schools. Musical performances will be by acts who come from Rutherford, Cleveland or Polk counties.

Scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m., the event is free to attend and has very little cost involved to the Town, Gref added.

"Town Countil did give us the money for the music, but we only asked for money for the first event because we wanted to see how it would go," she said. "If we have over 200 people attend, we will be successful."

Fourth Friday on Main are scheduled for each month through Oct. 28. Maps will be distributed at the event to provide information on each locations' offerings.

For more information on the event, search Explore Forest City on Facebook.