lifestyle
FRIDAY AFTER 5 Downtown • fridayafter5.com Friday After 5 is the summer-long series of free outdoor concerts held every Friday on the eight-block, beautiful downtown Owensboro riverfront. Named a “Top Ten Summer Festival” in Kentucky, the award-winning event includes live bands, family events, food trucks and more. Seven stages stretch from the RiverPark Center to the Holiday Inn to create a full mile of music. There’s a fun, family-friendly street fair, and Smothers Park is located right in the middle of it all.
PORCHFEST Griffith Avenue • porchfestobky.com The front porches of the stately homes along Griffith Avenue come alive with the sound of music on one Saturday each June. Andy Brasher and Tamarra Miller created PorchFest in 2018. In 2021, nearly three dozen musical acts performed at PorchFest ‘21 on 11 porches between Frederica Street and Robin Road. The music lasts from 3 to 9 p.m. Parking is available at Owensboro High School for a fee and on side streets for free. Griffith Avenue is closed to traffic starting at noon. Several food trucks are available each year. “I was invited to perform at a porch festival in Morgan City, Louisiana, in 2016,” Brasher said. “It was the first event of that kind that I had experienced, and I was blown away. Neighbors were gathering together in yards, on the sidewalks, strolling and enjoying great music in a friendly community atmosphere.” It harkens back to the days before television when neighbors would get together on porches to talk and make music, he said. And Brasher knew he wanted to see it duplicated in Owensboro.
18 | GREATER OWENSBORO
