BROOKINGS A big crowd of adults, teenagers and children ushered in the fifth and final week of Downtown at Sundown in Brookings on Thursday night as the event wrapped up its 10th year of bringing music, vendors and entertainment to area residents.
Its been a great season. I feel like our numbers have been great. You can tell that everybody here is excited to be here and thats long-term people here, so people that come every week, every year, Ainsley Bennett, event coordinator for the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce, told the Brookings Register. I think its just been a great celebration to have everybody from Brookings involved, showing out for the community, showing out with everything going on its been great.
Folks agreed with Bennetts assessment.
We love bringing our kids here because theres so much stuff to do they love to do the Strider bikes, the art museum always has great crafts and my 3-year-old is a big fan of the face painting as well, Brookings resident Ali McCombs said. We just really appreciate the community for putting this on every year. There are so many great, free events that we love to take advantage of.
The weather, as expected, was also a factor in McCombs calculations.
We have to take advantage of the nice weather because its such a short amount of time that we get it, she said.
Michael Pedersen of Brookings took part in the festivities as well, thanks in large part to his children.
The kids wanted to come down here Rainy and Kollins, he said, adding that Rainy is 7 while Kollins is 4. They both went in there (the Kids Zone) and did the bubbles, face painting (and) got buttons made. (Its a) great deal here for the community.
It wasnt just children that brought adults downtown, either music was also a key factor. In this case, it was the band Judd Hoos that played Thursday, which was themed as SDSU Night.
Hang out with some friends, see the music and see the town, Isaac Rowlison of Brookings said, adding that Thursdays Sundown was his first one of the season.
The free factor played a role as well for some people.
First of all, its free, and then its very family friendly, Brookings resident Sarah Stertz said, her kids Constance, 4, and McCormick, 14 hanging around nearby. We always go to the childrens zone its usually the last thing we do because its the messiest, and then we head home.
In closing, Bennett expressed her gratitude for the team effort that went into bringing about this years Downtown at Sundown.
I think Im just very grateful for all of our partnerships First Bank & Trust, the city, and all of our sponsors involved and all of the nonprofits that are here and food vendors, she said. It wouldnt be possible without them, and theyre all here every week, just making it an experience for everybody to enjoy for all ages, visitors (and) community members alike. Im just grateful for everybody involved.
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