Thursday night street dances saved

After a brief scare that a lack of finances might derail what has become one of Morgan Hill’s favorite summer events, the Morgan Hill Downtown Association’s Thursday Night Street Dance will continue as planned starting in July.
Some of the MHDA members organized a fundraising effort at the beginning of this year, and within just a few weeks they were able to gather a sizable enough commitment to keep the weekly series going on the Third Street stage, according to MHDA member and local musician Pat Curtis. The 13-week series will kick off July 5, just in time to bookend the city’s annual Independence Day festivities.
The “incredible cooperation” among downtown merchants and restaurant owners ended up saving the series, Curtis said.
“One hundred percent of the people I’ve asked to contribute have done so,” he added.
The series, entering its fourth season this summer, provides residents and visitors something fun and exciting to do downtown, and provides a boost to local businesses, Curtis said. He listed more than a dozen such businesses that have contributed to make this year’s Thursday Street Dance possible, including even some that are not in the downtown corridor such as the Ford Store and Community Bank.
The street dance and other events in Morgan Hill, from the Independence Day celebrations to little league baseball games, are part of “the fabric of our community,” according to Ford Store president and owner Tim Paulus.
“It’s a wonderful community and we like to give back,” Paulus said.
Meanwhile downtown, businesses surrounding the Third Street venue for the weekly Thursday concerts stand to see the more direct impact they have witnessed the last three summers. Dan Creighton, owner of Huntington Station on Third Street, just a few feet from the site of the stage, predicts his sponsorship contribution to the event is “going to be worth it.”
“Anything that brings people downtown is a good event,” Creighton said. “We had a blast last year, and our customers enjoyed it. It’s community oriented, and it brings the community and businesses together.”
Part of the series’ intent is indeed to promote downtown businesses. Sponsoring businesses’ names will be posted on a banner adjacent to the outdoor venue, Curtis noted.
The weekly concert is currently scheduled to go from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday nights, Curtis said.
Most of the bands have already been booked. The entertainers represent a broad cross-section of genres such as rock and roll, blues, oldies, country, disco, funk – “pretty much all dance music,” Curtis said. Bands expected to perform so far include Vital Sign, Nigel and Clive, Tip of the Top, and Dave Barrett’s School of Blues who typically includes local children in their performances. Curtis’ two bands – Fast Lane Band and Blue Dog – will also perform this summer.
The MHDA has faced financial uncertainty since the governor announced last year that he planned to eliminate redevelopment agencies – historically a key funding source for the nonprofit association. Last year, the Morgan Hill RDA funded the association to the tune of about $89,000. But the state law eliminating the agencies statewide and redirecting their funds to other basic public services as of Feb. 1 discontinued that source of funding, leaving the MHDA to look elsewhere – such as deeper commitments from its downtown commercial members.
“We are putting our heads together as a board and talking to our constituents in the downtown community,” MHDA executive director Theresa Kiernan said. “It’s going to be a challenge to make sure we keep the Downtown Association going as a nonprofit business.”