Pat Dailey to open first Rally

4/16/2005

CitiFest has announced its events schedule for the coming year, and it includes three riverside rallies, a pair of fireworks shows, a blues festival, road race, and holiday parade.

I think we have a great schedule, said Curtis Slough, special events manager for CitiFest. We re real hopeful that we re going to have a good turnout.

Rallies by the River will be sprinkled through the summer, with the first taking place June 3 and featuring music by Great Lakes singer Pat Dailey. Toledoan Kyle White will open the night.

A July 1 concert will include Cincinnati party band The Menus. The final rally will be Aug. 19. That concert will have Gunner Ross (former drummer for Ted Nugent) and the T.N.T. Band playing Nugent s hits and its own rock and roll. The local band MAS Fina will kick off the night with rock covers from the 70s to today.

The three rallies, which run from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Promenade Park and cost $5, represent an increase over last year s two riverside events.

If these are successful, look for possibly more next year, Slough said. We want to build this thing back up slowly.

On July 4, more than 50,000 people are expected to line both sides of the Maumee River to celebrate Independence Day with the Pharm Lights the Night Fireworks Celebration and FamilyFest Presented by National City Bank.

All-day entertainment in Promenade Park will include highlights from the Toledo School for the Arts at 1 p.m. The band On The Beach will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. with cover songs and its own rock and roll. All of this leads up to the largest fireworks show in northwest Ohio at 10 p.m.

In Festival Park, activities geared for children and families will be ongoing from 1 to 9 p.m. They will include the Super Scientific Circus exhibit and learning center, where participants can learn to spin plates and throw boomerangs. There also will be crafts and amusement rides.

At the end of July, the Toledo Blues Festival will return to Promenade Park. From 2 to 10 p.m. July 30, attendees will be treated to blues musicians from the local, regional, and national levels. Admission is $7. Bobby Rush will be headlining the event.

Closing out the summer entertainment season is RiverFest and Pandemonium VI Fireworks along the riverfront on Sept. 4. Voodoo Libido and headliners The Nu-Tones will perform, and the fireworks will pop shortly after sundown around 9:30 p.m.

As the weather starts to cool, runners will have The Blade/BCSN Classic 10K Road Race and Dual Relay Presented by Fifth Third Bank. The Sept. 25 race, beginning at 9 a.m., winds through downtown Toledo, bringing in racers from around the country year after year.

Wrapping up the year s events will be the Downtown Toledo Holiday Parade on Nov. 26. Thousands are expected to line the streets downtown to watch floats, marching bands, giant helium balloons, and zany clowns. The parade begins at 11 a.m. at Summit Street and Jefferson Avenue.