How to go
What: Lebanon Country Music Festival, “Stompin’ in the Streets”
Where: Downtown Lebanon, along Mulberry St. from Cherry Street to Broadway Ave.
When: Saturday, June 8, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Cost: Free, open to the public. (Food and beverage items will be available for purchase as well as tickets for the mechanical bull and a kids zone. There will also be craft vendors that will offer items for sale.)
More information: www.lebanoncountrymusicfest.com
The Lebanon Rotary Club, Historic Downtown Lebanon Inc. and the Lebanon Eagles have teamed up to bring the first-ever Lebanon Country Music Festival, “Stompin’ in the Streets” to downtown Lebanon on Saturday, June 8.
The western-themed event will allow the community-driven, non-profit organizations, Rotary and HDLI, to further their fundraising efforts, according to Scott Brunka, secretary of the Lebanon Rotary Club and committee chairperson for the Lebanon Country Music Festival
“We were looking for ways to do more. Obviously, that would require us to raise money to be able to donate and provide more money to these civic-minded organizations,” Brunka said. “About the same time, HDLI was also looking for fundraising opportunities to support their mission of promoting and supporting downtown Lebanon.”
With support from more than 27 sponsors and help from other community groups such as The Lebanon Optimist Club, organizers are optimistic that the Lebanon Country Music Festival will grow to become a signature fundraiser. Although, a specific financial goal has not been established for this year’s event, the hope is to draw 10,000 attendees. In the future, the festival will be held on the second Saturday in June each year.
“Our goal this year is to provide a successful, fun event that we can grow each year. We wanted to put on an event that highlights what a great town we have here in Lebanon and to have a place where people can come right here in our own downtown,” Brunka stated. “Lebanon has a history of great festivals downtown and we hope that we can add this into the mix.”
Jo Wise, executive director of Historic Downtown Lebanon, Inc. said Lebanon is an enthusiastic, country music town and this kind of fundraiser is a good fit for the community. Some of the monies raised will go back into historic downtown, promotions and its preservation.
“I am most looking forward to seeing the day, everything running smoothly and the streets packed with people spending money, having a good time and ‘Stompin in the Streets,’” Wise said.
“Stompin’ in the Streets” is a family-oriented festival that will include a wide array of country music acts, which are slated to perform from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The live music line-up includes: Mackenna & Shelby, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.; John Irwin Band, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.; Breckenridge, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dry Run Band, 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.; Lebanon Grand Opry House featuring Jessie Lyn, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Brimstone, 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.; Pistol Holler, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; and headliner Dallas Moore Band, 9:15 to 10:45 p.m.
Lebanon native and artist Jessie Lyn Fisher, who has owned the Lebanon Grand Opry House for six years with her husband, Paul, said she’s looked forward to a country music festival in Lebanon for many years.
“As owner of the Lebanon Grand Opry House, which is also downtown Lebanon, I brought country music to our town,” Fisher said. “This is something just a little bit more to say, ‘Wow, this is so cool that Lebanon and Warren County has accepted country music as the music that they listen to.’ With country music, horses and just being in Southern Ohio, it all goes together.”
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