Morgan Hill Freedom Fest organizers and downtown merchants have come to terms on the new location of the annual July 3 Street Dance, and both parties urge residents who were upset about the change of venue to continue to support the Independence Day celebration activities.
The July 3 Street Dance will be held for the first time at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center at the corner of Monterey Street and Dunne Avenue, in hopes of allowing a cleaner and more family-friendly event than what the concert has become as it has grown in popularity over the last 15-plus years, according to Charles Weston, president of Independence Day Celebrations. That’s three blocks away from the former location downtown.
“This decision was made due to the increasing costs of putting on the July 3 Street Dance, including street clean-up, street shutdown and closure and security for a crowd that had grown to nearly 8,000 people, many coming from outside of Morgan Hill,” IDC and merchants added in a joint statement.
The IDC is the organizer of annual July 4 holiday events in Morgan Hill, including the downtown parade, fireworks display, patriotic sing, Bike Classic, car show and 5K run.
When the IDC decided to move the July 3 Street Dance to the community center earlier this year, without consulting the Morgan Hill Downtown Association or other parties with a possible financial stake in the event, merchants and residents grew irate.
The MHDA accused the IDC of failing to communicate with them about the move, and offering continually changing explanations as to why they changed the location of the widely popular street dance, which includes live musical entertainment.
Merchants complained that they will lose out on thousands of dollars in sales they typically reap from the street dance, which draws thousands of people to the downtown core, where the streets have traditionally closed to motor traffic during the July 3 event.
Until now, the annual pre-Independence Day celebration has been held on Monterey Road, between Second and Third streets.
The two organizations met recently to discuss these differences, and when the merchants looked into what it would take to move the street dance back to downtown by July 3, they quickly realized the expense and logistics would not be possible, according to MHDA board member Dennis Kennedy.
But the IDC agreed to allow merchants to set up four booths and sell their wares as vendors at the community center, where the event will be renamed the “Family Music Fest,” Weston added.
Plus, they agreed to look into the possibility of the MHDA supporting, sponsoring, or partnering with IDC next year to bring the July 3 concert back to downtown Morgan Hill for the traditional street dance, Weston said.
The MHDA came away from the spat with a better understanding of the complexities and unseen costs of conducting such an event, Kennedy added.
“It got so big that it was losing money, people were coming in from outside the community. Beer sales were going later and later, and it changes from a family event to one where you’ve got a lot of people who’ve had too much to drink, which can get dangerous,” Kennedy said.
The Community and Cultural Center amphitheater and adjacent lawn can only accommodate about 3,000 people, and Weston said that’s part of the point, as maybe some of the “boisterous” crowd who have attended in the past will be discouraged this year.
“It will be a much smaller, family event,” Weston said.
The MHDA has also joined the IDC in pleading for monetary donations, as Kennedy and Weston noted that the nonprofit organization is “entirely volunteer” and relies on community support.
One “exciting” addition to this year’s Freedom Fest, unrelated to the street dance, is the expansion of vendors and entertainment just before the fireworks July 4, Weston added.
The Community Park, the site of the fireworks display, will open at 4 p.m. for Independence Day revelers to begin setting up lawn chairs and picnics.
New this year is the addition of “an amazing assortment” of food trucks, Weston said.
The mobile food vendors – 10 in all – will sell a wide variety of foods, including Korean barbecue, kettle corn, shaved ice and other sweets, tri-tip sandwiches, hot dogs, Mediterranean food and other options, Weston said.
- Saturday, June 30: Bike Classic, Morgan Hill Trailhead at Coyote Creek Trail
- Tuesday, July 3: Patriotic Sing, Britton Middle School, 80 W. Central Ave., 6 to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 3: Family Music Fest, Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road, 7 to 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 4 events: - Freedom Run, register at P.A. Walsh Elementary School, 353 W. Main Ave., 6:30 to 7:45 a.m.
- Independence Day Parade, entertainment starts at 9 a.m., parade at 10 a.m.
- Car cruise and show, Community and Cultural Center, cruise at 9:30 a.m., show at 11:30 a.m.
- Fireworks, Morgan Hill Community Park, entertainment starts at 6 p.m., fireworks at dark.
For more information, including how to participate and register for events, go to mhfreedomfest.com.
