‘Vibe in the Streets’ debuts on Cookman tonight
Street party aims to draw people to downtown Asbury
After two consecutive weeks of rain cancellations, a series of Thursday night street parties — dubbed “Vibe in the Streets” — starts tonight at 5:00 p.m. on Cookman Avenue in the downtown business district.
Originally meant to be held every week in June, the event will continue next week on Thursday, June 27. Event organizers are planning to reschedule the two weather-cancelled events next month.
Vibe in the Streets is organized by APVibe, a marketing campaign to promote downtown Asbury Park as a dining and cultural destination. For the Vibe events, vehicular traffic on Cookman Avenue, from Grand Avenue to Emory Street, will be replaced with foot traffic, in-street dining and drinking, musical acts, games and live art demonstrations. Vibe in the Streets will last from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
“We want people to come in and experience the downtown,” said Rose Crean, who organized the APVibe campaign with Morgan Sackman, in an earlier interview with the Sun. “To bring people into town on an off-night, really, is the most important thing. It’s not Saturday night – the city is not booming on a Thursday and it’s a good reason for people to come and to do something a little different.”
“We also really wanted to support the core businesses in this area,” Sackman said.
Downtown developer Carter Sackman has provided the initial funding for the APVibe initiative. Morgan Sackman is the daughter of Carter Sackman.
For the Vibe in the Streets events, Brickwall Tavern, Baca Sports Lounge and Old Man Rafferty’s have extended their liquor licenses through catering permits approved by the city, according to director of commerce and economic development Tom Gilmour. The catering permit allows people to purchase drinks outside and walk around the event area with them, he said.
There will also be live musical entertainment. To book the bands for the event, Crean and Sackman enlisted the help of Jon Leidersdorf of Lake House Productions on Lake Avenue.
Graffiti artists will also participate in Vibe in the Streets.
There is a charitable element to the party series as well. People who bring non-perishable items will receive surprise gift bags filled with promotional items and discounts from businesses throughout Asbury Park. There will be multiple collection sites present at the events to collect the food donations, which will go to the non-profit Move for Hunger organization.
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