Vallejo Main Street reboots August Summer Nights event

VALLEJO — Vallejo’s August Summer Nights event is returning to downtown after a decade-long pause. Two local bands will perform live each Thursday evening in August. Food trucks, a beer garden, artisan vendors and a kids’ activity zone will round out the event.

During the events, hosted by the nonprofit organization Vallejo Main Street, Marin Street will be closed between Virginia and Georgia Streets, and Georgia Street will be closed between Marin and Sacramento Streets.

They’ve already booked their bands through August. Don Caprice along with LJ Bryant and the Lost Art will perform on opening night this Thursday. Aerial Marin  will perform on Aug. 10 with James Early and the All Stars; David Bustamante and Bobby Santos plus Beaufunk play on Aug, 17; Tom Jonesing will perform with Prieto and his Mirage Band featuring Mio Flores on Aug. 24; finally Glen Snyder and Papa Joe and the New Deal play on Aug. 31.

Vallejo Main Street – a member of Main Street America, an organization that aims to revitalize old historic commercial districts – was on the verge of shutting down before renewed interest brought the group back to life last year. “We're like the phoenix rising from the ashes,” longtime board member Gregg Goins said.

John Sylvain was on the Vallejo Main Street board of directors when they hosted similar events on Wednesday nights for about six years until 2012. “It got to be quite a big event,” Sylvain said. “People liked it, people still have good memories of it.”

But the city cut Vallejo Main Street’s funding after the 2008 bankruptcy. With no way to pay for the bands, permitting and marketing the event folded.

“They also pulled all their funding for the Chamber of Commerce, and also for the parade, and the fireworks,” said former city councilmember and Vallejo Main Street board President Pippin Dew. “So many things went away.”

Vallejo Main Street kept working on smaller projects and events. They produced a self-guided downtown walking tour, collaborated with community members to adorn planter boxes with mosaic art, and organized a wine walk fundraiser to raise money to install lights on the trees downtown.

Eric Mitchell, owner of the School of Chinese Martial Arts, worked with Vallejo Main Street on an annual Haunting of Downtown event each October, when costumed kids went from store to store collecting candy and small gifts and participated in a costume contest.

But the group’s efforts dwindled even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Board members resigned or moved away. They were down to three board members and stopped meeting. Goins contemplated shutting the organization down.

“You can imagine trying to run a Main Street group with three members,” Goins said. “It’s like having two wheels on a four-wheel cart.”

Goins aired his concerns to Tom Bartee, district director for state Senator Bill Dodd.

“I told Tom my plans and I gave him the reasons why. Coincidentally, [Vallejo Economic Vitality Commissioner] Alex Matias contacted Tom and said ‘I think Main Street is a really important component.’ He didn't even know that we had a Main Street,” Goins said. “That’s how he got involved.”

“I had several discussions with Tom and some other people and we reconstituted it. We created a board and here we are,” Goins said.

“Everybody talks about Wednesday night. ‘When are you going to bring it back?,’” Goins said. “So we considered it and that's what we're doing.”

The new incarnation of the event will take place on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays to avoid competition with the weekly blues shows at the Empress Lounge.

Dew was the city council liaison to the group until her term ended in January. “As soon as they started meeting again I started going, and all of a sudden they're like, ‘Hey, we hear you might have some free time.’” Dew said. That’s how she was nominated and elected President of the Board of Directors.

A recent boost from the city’s general fund is not the group’s only source of income. Goins and Vallejo Beautification Commissioner Rick Weyrich found a creative way to squirrel away some money while the organization was dormant.

“We used to pick up trash and do other things, and then [the Central Core Restoration Corporation] said, ‘You know what? We're gonna pay Vallejo Main Street this amount of money to pick up trash,’” Goins said.

“So from 2018 up to a year ago we were able to put away $16,000,” Goins said.

CCRC will be adding a second security guard to the Thursday night shift to help cover the event, but Goins, who has worked downtown for years, said he thinks Vallejo’s bad rap as a dangerous place has been blown out of proportion.

“We need to get people to come to the downtown and then they need to be feeling like they're safe,” Goins said. “People are funny. They don't know that probably Georgia and Virginia streets and Marin, these places are really quite safe, one of the safer areas in the city.”

Dew said that events like August Summer Nights help make the city safer. “When you have more people and more activity that tends to deter crime from happening to begin with,” Dew said.

The group is planning more promotions and events, including an Oktoberfest Beer Crawl, and something similar in December with mulled wine and hot apple cider.

Vallejo Main street will provide beverages and cups to the participating business, and sell tickets to the event. Ticket holders will be able to tour the shops to get a taste of beer and go inside and see what they have to offer.

Vallejo Main street will soon launch a Downtown Dollars gift certificate program similar to the one offered by Benicia Main Street.

Dew said that the ultimate goal of all of these events is to draw foot traffic to downtown so that people spend more time there and come back again to shop.
To find out more about Vallejo Main Street, visit their website, their Facebook page or visit these links for vendor and sponsorship opportunities, or to volunteer.