An effort that required a lot of hope and heart becomes a big success
DANCING — The Skyliners out of Pittsburgh performed oldies music, including the songs, “Since I Don’t Have You,” “This, I Swear” and “Pennies from Heaven.” Band members include lead singers John Sarkis, Eric Bruce, Donna Groom and Jim Gregorakis. -- Julie Stenger
FOOD AND FUN — Amaya Duffy, left, and Leah Stone of Steubenville, volunteered to work for the Steubenville Popcorn Co. by working the popcorn machine outdoors and selling the product from the old-style cart. -- Julie Stenger
PERFORMANCE — The Big Red Marching Band, above, performed several song selections during the late afternoon, with visitors cheering them on from the sidelines. Crowds of people applauded band members, applauding their contribution to the event. -- Julie Stenger
Steubenville resident Bridget Hostetler, and her 3-year-old Bernedoodle, Moo, were among the spectators taking part in the event. Moo was among friends, as several dogs could be spotted from those attending the street event. -- Julie Stenger
The Cattle Dog Candle Co. is based in Toronto. Owner Jennifer Moore, above, has been in business for five years and attends area events to sell her candles, including an array of unique and popular scents. The products can be purchased in the form of a candle or as squares used in wax warmers. -- Julie Stenger
Dr. Susanne Curn-Escobar, vice president of the Women’s Club of Steubenville, hosted guest speaker Marc Barnes, president of the Harmonium Project during the club’s May 2 meeting at Froehlich’s Classic Corner. -- Julie Stenger
DANCING — The Skyliners out of Pittsburgh performed oldies music, including the songs, “Since I Don’t Have You,” “This, I Swear” and “Pennies from Heaven.” Band members include lead singers John Sarkis, Eric Bruce, Donna Groom and Jim Gregorakis. -- Julie Stenger
FOOD AND FUN — Amaya Duffy, left, and Leah Stone of Steubenville, volunteered to work for the Steubenville Popcorn Co. by working the popcorn machine outdoors and selling the product from the old-style cart. -- Julie Stenger
PERFORMANCE — The Big Red Marching Band, above, performed several song selections during the late afternoon, with visitors cheering them on from the sidelines. Crowds of people applauded band members, applauding their contribution to the event. -- Julie Stenger
Steubenville resident Bridget Hostetler, and her 3-year-old Bernedoodle, Moo, were among the spectators taking part in the event. Moo was among friends, as several dogs could be spotted from those attending the street event. -- Julie Stenger
The Cattle Dog Candle Co. is based in Toronto. Owner Jennifer Moore, above, has been in business for five years and attends area events to sell her candles, including an array of unique and popular scents. The products can be purchased in the form of a candle or as squares used in wax warmers. -- Julie Stenger
Dr. Susanne Curn-Escobar, vice president of the Women’s Club of Steubenville, hosted guest speaker Marc Barnes, president of the Harmonium Project during the club’s May 2 meeting at Froehlich’s Classic Corner. -- Julie Stenger
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It's a story about hope ... because hope can one day become a reality.
It's a story about heart ... because belief is what is needed to achieve a vision.
Marc Barnes is someone who holds out hope. He has the heart. And he is seeing his vision come to fruition.
Barnes is president of the Harmonium Project and strongly believes in the possibility Steubenville's downtown area will once again thrive as it did in days past.
Barnes explained to the Women's Club of Steubenville during their May meeting, that when he moved here to attend Franciscan University of Steubenville, he was warned not to go downtown because there was a potential for getting mugged.
"Well, when I went downtown there was often no one around to even mug me," he commented, to which club members chuckled.
Barnes shared with the women gathered at Froehlich's Classic Corner how he still recalls sitting on a porch along Oregon Avenue, talking with friends and classmates about what they could do for downtown Steubenville. He stated he was dissatisfied. Feeling disconnected. Here he was learning Christian values but there was a lack of acting them out.
"Here was a downtown yearning to thrive again," Barnes said. "So we began organizing and revitalizing the city any way we could." The group worked at Fort Steuben and Nutcracker Village. Concerts were great, but no, he mentioned. It had to be something more.
Restore buildings for musical acts? Can't rebuild culture.
Barnes remembers a city which once had a "beating heart." When stores and streets were crowded. When hotels and theaters lined the streets. And then the mills closed. Storefronts became empty. Something needed to be done.
But how do you have plays, concerts -- the arts, "when you have no money," he asked the ladies? "We asked ourselves, 'What can we do now?'"
Enter: First Fridays on Fourth.
"It is a way of faking a thriving downtown until we make a thriving downtown," Barnes tells people. "So, the downtown has a lot of great, open businesses with closed buildings in between them. It's a way to fill those empty spaces in order to give people one continuous flow of life, so they know what success looks like."
First Fridays on Fourth, made its return May 5 with a Roaring '20s theme. Some attendees dressed the part. Men could be seen wearing custom-tailored suits with fedoras or "newsboys" hats. While women adorned themselves in silk, flat crepe dresses.
The monthly street fair featured local food, beer and craft vendors, concert performances from Pittsburgh-based band, The Skyliners and song selections from Matt Hill Takin' It Easy jazz band. There was a tap-dancing extravaganza and a "Dance 'til You Drop" competition. Competitors danced non-stop in order to survive "dance challenges" while hoping to grab top prize. Those who needed to learn how to dance received the opportunity prior to the competition by visiting the main stage area and receiving instructions given by Joseph Palmer.
There was a kid's mocktail bar, a secret speakeasy and bouncy castles by the Grand Theater for the Performing Arts. A second stage was added this year in Pocket Park across from Malta's Pizza in order to accommodate more acts. This stage focuses more on acoustics, instrumentals and quieter acts, according to Barnes.
The next First Fridays on Fourth will be held downtown this week under theme, "Ye Ol" according to organizers.
Approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people will attend the event, as the crowds have gotten larger every time, officials noted. Why?
"I think it got bigger because people want a downtown," Barnes said "They don't want to live a life where they drive places, patronize them and then drive home. They want a city center where they can see their neighbors and visit multiple spaces at once in a pedestrian environment. First Fridays fills that desire."
"The idea of First Fridays is to have a good time and celebrate community," Barnes concluded. It's very simple." Barnes said. "But it's also to inspire people with the idea that this kind of feeling of joy -- the safety of the city street being full of life, can be our reality every day. It doesn't just have to be once a month."
Four streets will be blocked off the first Friday of every month, weather permitting, through October, including Washington, Adams, Market and Fourth streets.
Upcoming themes include Freedom Friday, July 7; Eighties Night, Aug. 4; Storybook Night, Sept. 1; and Fall Festival, Oct. 6.