By Kim McDarison
The Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will be hosting “Rhapsody,” a rebranded version of two former summertime events: “Rhythm on the River” and “Rhythm Remix.”
The event will be held Saturday, Aug. 26.
The rebranded event will provide musical venues spread throughout the community’s downtown, along with other family-friendly activities by day, and will continue into the evening, during which time event-goers will find musical performances in the city’s Barrie Park, Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shauna Wessely said.
Wessely described the rebranding as an opportunity to combine the best elements from both former summertime events with some additional activities, all of which will serve to grow and enhance the new Rhapsody format.
“We wanted to emphasis that community togetherness and feel,” Wessely said, noting that six music venues in the city’s downtown will continue by day to draw visitors to the city’s downtown businesses.
“The Remix concept helps people visit the downtown, so that’s still happening, and we heard from people that they liked the Rhythm on the River format that provided music at night,” she said.
Nighttime entertainment represents a return to the Rhythm of the River format, which she said, was “more traditional.”
Different from the former version, the nighttime entertainment will be held in Barrie Park rather than the public parking lot near the city’s post office.
“We thought that would be better because Barrie has the stage, and we wanted to utilize our wonderful park system,” Wessely said.
Also new, the morning will kick off with both a 5K and one-mile fun run. A link to sign up for the runs is here: https://runsignup.com/Race/WI/FortAtkinson/RiverRun5K1Mile.
A cost to participate in the 5K run for those who sign up before Aug. 24 at 11:59 p.m. is $35. For those interested in participating in the one-mile fun run, the cost for those who sign up before the same Aug. 24 deadline is $20. A cost for children, ages 1-17, who sign up before the deadline is $15. The chamber will continue to take registrations past the deadline through the day of the event Wessely said. The cost of registration after Aug. 24 to participate in the 5K run is $40. Registration after the deadline for the one-mile fun run will cost $25 for adults, and $20 for children between the ages of 1-17.
Both runs, which will make use of the Glacier River Trail, will begin in Jones Park, 615 Janesville Ave., Fort Atkinson.
The run will open for registration around 8 a.m. with a start time planned for 9 a.m. The run will begin in Jones Park and move along the bike path. It will end at the Jones Market, which also is a music venue, with the a performance beginning at 11 a.m., Wessely said.
Wessely said the addition of the two runs is a response to community members who said they wanted to see the annual day of summertime activities begin with something that was “more physically.”
Depending upon their successfulness this year, Wessely said the chamber will consider added the feature as an annual activity.
Also new this year, the traditional Badgerland After School Enrichment program (BASE) Duck Rack, which, in years past, has been held as a stand-alone event, will be included as part of the Rhapsody festivities.
“This is an example of multiple entities, like BASE, combining their activities with us to make this day a really robust day for Fort Atkinson,” Wessely said.
Most of the child-specific activities this year will be provided by BASE, and all of the youth activities will be held in the city’s Bicentennial Park, she said.
The Lions Club of Fort Atkinson will hold a bike tour during the event. The tour is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. in Jones Park. An earlier story about the race, including its registration process, is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/john-mckenzie-and-don-bakker-memorial-bike-ride-to-be-held-in-august/.
As in past years, she noted, the event will center around myriad free live musical performances.
A list of venues, performers, and associated sponsors follows.
• Jones Market: The venue, 601 Jones Ave., is sponsored by Jones Market and will host Mambo Surfers between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• Bicentennial Park: The venue, 210 South Water St., West, is sponsored by Enbridge in partnership with BASE and will host KidZone activities, including the BASE Duck Race between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Interactive folk band Nazario Chickpeazio will perform between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
• Cafe Carpe: The venue, 18 S. Water St. West, is sponsored by Johnson Financial Group and will host Sarah the Red, a singer/songwriter of Americana, between noon and 1:30 p.m.
• Riverwalk Plaza near Brock’s River Walk Tavern and Grill: The venue, 99 S. Main St., is sponsored by Spacesaver and will host Pro Pittman, a mixed genres musician, between 1 and 2:30 p.m.
• Good2Go: The venue, 96 S. Main St., is sponsored by TDS Telecommunications LLC and will host MadTadders between 2 and 3:30 p.m.
• Mr Brew’s Taphouse: The venue, 201 N. Main St., is sponsored by Badger Basement Systems and will host 7000apart between 3 and 4:30 p.m.
• Barrie Park bandshell: The venue, 210 Robert St., is sponsored by Artisan Graham Real Estate, and will host Tinker Boys at 3:30 p.m., followed by Zac Matthews, at 6 p.m. The venue will close at 9 p.m.
To learn more about the full event, visit the chamber’s website: https://fortchamber.com/events/details/rhapsody-free-live-music-festival-presented-by-artisan-graham-real-estate-26790 .
Two-year-old Ben Kemler, at left, dances on the Good2Go patio with 2-year-old Vera Scullin to the music of Driftless. Ben is the son of Driftless drummer Jacob Kemler. The band performed during last year’s summertime event Rhythm Remix. This year, the rebranded event, “Rhapsody,” will include similar daytime events and an evening concert in Fort Atkinson’s Barrie Park. File photo/Kim McDarison.
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