Downtown businesses gear up for Family Fest on 5th

ANTIGO — The city’s downtown will play host to Family Fest on 5th on Saturday, July 20, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Harper’s Mercantile owner Rick Montgomery said the 5th Ave. event, which is being planned by the downtown business association Thrive on Five, will likely be larger than it was in previous years when it was billed as “Party on the Ave.”

“It’s kind of evolved this year,” Montgomery said. “We wanted to make it more family friendly so people would bring their families down and have some fun for the day. It’s basically designed to highlight the businesses that we have on main street and also give back to the community.”

The event will feature a plethora of free children’s attractions, according to Harper’s Mercantile Manager Sarah Goerke, who has been one of the main event organizers along with Montgomery.

“It’s going to be a really good event for families — that’s why we renamed it Family Fest on 5th,” Goerke said. “We’re trying to have a focus on bringing enough things so people can come into the businesses but also that they don’t have to spend money to come and enjoy themselves. We’re going to have glitter tattoos which will be free, a bounce house which will be free, the petting zoo will be free — so there’s going to be tons of stuff just for families to come and enjoy themselves.”

Event planners also are including several relatively inventive draws.

“The Northwoods Tractor Club has what they call a barrel train. They made these little carts out of 55 gallon barrels, and they put wheels on them and link them all together and they pull it with a lawnmower so it will be riding up and down the street. The kids love it,” Montgomery said. “Also, there’s going to be a treasure hunt for the kids — all up and down the street we’ll have stuff hidden all over that the kids have to find. And in a little park area, we’re going to dump about a dump truck worth of sand and have toys in there for kids to play with in a huge sandbox.”

Crafters and vendors will also set up along 5th Ave., and businesses will participate too.

“The restaurants and the bars up and down the street are all going to have a special item — either a food item or a drink item — and they’ll have discounts on a lot of that kind of stuff,” he said. “The other thing is, we don’t know how many yet, but there is going to be a big giveaway somewhere on the street every hour. Us here, what we’re going to do is the first 75 people in the store at, say, 1 p.m. will get free ice cream.”

Montgomery said Harper’s Mercantile will also kick off the morning with a biscuit and gravy breakfast, one of several fundraisers that will occur throughout the day to support downtown improvement efforts.

“The fundraisers are for if we need more benches or garbage cans or a way to beautify the street somehow so it’s friendlier for the public,” Montgomery said, going on to speak about the corner on which DD’s bar used to sit, which is a specific area he said Thrive on Five may look to revitalize. “It’s a pretty small space, but the city has pretty much told Thrive on Five that we can do what we want with that. It’s possible we might turn it into some sort of attraction for the community. Some of the funds will go for that and there’s various other projects that we are thinking of doing downtown here.”

Montgomery complimented city officials on their strong support of Family Fest on 5th.

“They’re allowing us to close the street down, which is a great thing in itself,” he said. “They’re putting out extra garbage cans for us. They have a trailer now that has I don’t know how many tables and chairs that generally you rent, but they’re giving those to us to set up out here, so the city’s very onboard with pretty much all of it and helping us a lot.”

Both Goerke and Montgomery said they believe the event is one locals are beginning to look forward to each summer.

“I think it’s just a great event for the community,” Goerke said. “Obviously, we are trying to increase exposure and revitalize the downtown for businesses, and you just don’t get enough people down here on a daily basis. These events are always great to remind people what small businesses we have down here.”

“It’s been horrendous to try to plan,” Montgomery laughed. “But we just want to make it a fun day to bring the families down and let the kids have fun and do different things. It hasn’t been to this magnitude that it’s been this year, so we’re hoping it will be the biggest one ever. Hopefully we’ll have good weather. But we’re going to do it, rain or shine.”