North Side
business owners are launching a campaign to encourage Oil City and area
residents to hit the streets on Saturday.
The
promotion, dubbed "Summer Saturdays on Seneca Street," will debut
Saturday and continue on four subsequent Saturdays through the summer
season.
"It's our
way of saying 'the North Side is here and well and open' so that we can
keep our businesses viable," said Daryl Hicks, president of the North
Side Business Association which is sponsoring the campaign.
The event
will run from 5 to 9 p.m. along Seneca Street from Center to Duncomb
streets. The street will be closed to parking and vehicular traffic to
allow for a variety of entertainment and vendors.
"It will be
like a street fair and we've invited all the businesses on the North
Side to participate. So far, the reaction has been very positive," Hicks
said.
Dance
studio students will perform and a number of bands have signed on to
play. A guitarist is set to perform in Pipeline Alley at the National
Transit Building.
Some
vendors, including crafts people and jewelry artists, will be on hand.
Service
industries, such as facial makeup artists and masseuses, also will be
featured, Hicks said.
Downtown
restaurants will be open and several will have outdoor food booths.
Artists
will give tours of the art studios in the National Transit Annex and
their work will be available for purchase. The Transit Fine Arts Gallery
will be open during the evening event.
"We wanted
to create something for families in Oil City and the surrounding area
and this gives them the opportunity to come down and shop, be
entertained and eat on a summer night," Hicks said.
The North
Side Business Association was organized in February to promote its
members' livelihoods. Hicks, owner of a beauty salon, was instrumental
in founding the group.
Other
officers are Kathy Exley, vice president, and Kim Scott, secretary.
The "Summer
Saturdays on Seneca Street' promotion will be held again on June 28,
July 12, Aug. 9 and Aug. 20.
