13 Thursdays is an weekly Campustown event, which runs from May 21st through August 20th, and is hosted by the Champaign Center Partnership. “Our whole goal is to bring the community to Campus during the summer,” says Executive Director Erin Lippitz. “We want families to know that it’s a good place to take your kids to explore and there are plenty of places to eat and have fun.”
Lippitz says that the Champaign Center Partnership took ownership of the summer long event a few years ago. “Traditionally 13 Thursdays has been about Campustown businesses offering discounts and deals throughout the summer to entice the rest of the community to patronize Campus businesses when the students are gone. This year we wanted to kick things up a bit and add entertainment on select Thursdays. We want to bring that vitality and energy that downtown has on a Friday to Campustown on a Thursday. This is our first year adding this elements to Campustown so we anticipate that it will take a year or two to really catch on and start drawing the crowds we want to see.”
This past Thursday, the event featured the music of Emily Otnes (above) for the first performance of the season. “Emily won our jingle contest last year and we love her voice and style so she was one of our first choices to sing during 13 Thursdays,” said Lippitz. Though performing at this event solo, Otnes is also a member of the local acts Tara Terra and Boycut.
13 Thursdays will continue on June 23rd with a musical performance by Killer Bee Honey and will take place at Firehaus. Head out this Thursday and enjoy Campustown (while you can).
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