Only a handful of the 25 people who showed up Thursday night for the kickoff of downtown Evanston’s new “It’s Thursday” program walked out empty-handed. Almost everyone won gift certificates to local businesses in a raffle, but organizers had hoped the competition wouldn’t be so limited.
“If the concert was outside, more people would have stopped by,” said Ira Golan, who founded Evmark, a promotional company for downtown Evanston.
“This is the first week of the program and people are still finding out about it.”
The program is intended to bring Evanston residents and Northwestern students to the downtown area on Thursday nights. In previous years, summer entertainment in downtown Evanston started in July and was scheduled later at night.
But Golan said bands at “It’s Thursday” play earlier so people can go to dinner or shop in Evanston afterward.
“I founded Evmark to encourage more people to discover the downtown area,” he said.
Golan said rain kept people away.
The program, designed to attract people to the stores and restaurants in the downtown area with bands and local business promotions, is supposed to take place outside in Bank One Plaza from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Thursday night. But Cedarcase, Thursday night’s featured band, was forced to set up in Bank One lobby because of the weather.
Mayor Lorraine Morton, who sat in the front row while the band played, said that turnouts usually increase as the summer goes on and more people find out about the event.
“In past years, chairs have been set up outside and a lot of people stop and listen,” Morton said. “This is the first time that I have seen it rain.”
Evmark has booked a variety of bands from the Chicago area for this summer’s program, said Lois Roewade, an Evmark employee.
Evanston resident Drina Nikola represents Cedarcase and other bands, including The Rockin’ Johnny Band, which is scheduled to play at “It’s Thursday” on May 31. She said the program is an extremely good opportunity for the area.
“It’s a great idea for Evanston, especially as the weather gets nicer,” she said.
About 200 people have showed up on popular Thursdays in the past, said Golan. Organizers expect a similar turnout for shows this summer, he said.
Next week Marvin Tate’s D-Settlement is scheduled to play. The band is a “multi-ethnic high-energy rock ‘n’ roll band,” Roewade said.
The “It’s Thursday” program will run every Thursday until July 12, when it will be replaced by a program scheduled later at night that will run until August 23. On July 19, bands will start playing at 7:30 p.m. and people will be able to come and dance under the stars, Golan said.