Notes@Night returns for 2022 season
By Brandi Makuski
The third season of Notes@Night kicks off on June 1 in downtown Stevens Point.
Stevens Point-based band Save Point will kick off the season, performing from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1 in the Mathias Mitchell Public Square.
The Stevens Point Alliance, the association of downtown business owners, launched Notes@Night during the summer of 2020 as a way to help local residents navigate gathering restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide an avenue for local food and beverage-based businesses to weather the downturn in economic activity.
It worked. Sales at downtown restaurants increased by 75 percent or more during the Notes@Night events, according to SPA president Tory Hojnacki.
SPA also hung Edison party lights over the Square prior to kicking off the music season. Hojnacki, who also owns Grafitti’s Sports Pub, said the lights created a new kind of “positive outdoor vibe” for patrons.
Notes@Night earned SPA a Connect Communities Award from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation under its Main Street Wards program in April 2021.
Hojnacki also petitioned the Stevens Point City Council in 2020 to allow open intoxicants outdoors in designated areas of the Downtown District. The program has been extended by the Council twice—and has since become a permanent fixture for the Downtown, with local law enforcement saying the program hasn’t caused any significant issues.
A different musical act will perform every Wednesday, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., through the end of September. All concerts are family-friendly, free, and open to the public, thanks to a series of local sponsors.
The 2022 lineup
June 1: Save Point/sponsored by Graffiti’s Sports Pub
June 8: Shanty Owners/sponsored by City of Stevens Point
June 15: Austin Skalcki/sponsored by Diversi-tea
June 22: Cory Dr.DJ Ninja/sponsored by Bria Bella &Co
June 29: Steve Strasman/sponsored by Fall Line Outfitters
July 6: Mackenzie Moore/sponsored by Green Thumb Alternatives
July 13: Aaron Kaplan/sponsored by Mid-State Technical Collage
July 20: Big Dog Murphy/sponsored by Artiffects
July 27: Dale Dickerson/sponsored by Muzzy Broadcasting
August 3: Sarah Crow and the Stranger/sponsored by Blue Bead Rock Shop
August 10: Tom Burt-Acoustic Vibe/sponsored by Secure Heritage Insurance
August 17: Northwoods Skitchers/sponsored by Fall Line Outfitters
August 24: Manic Sarcastic/sponsored by Rose House
August 31: Travis John-Soul Whiskey/sponsored by Pallets and Planks
September 7: Max Koepke/sponsored by Sunset Point Winery
September 14: First Avenue/sponsored by Joe’s Bar
September 21: Cassondra Lea/sponsored by CASSONDRA LEA District 1 Alder – Marc Christenson
September 28: TBA/rain date