Thursdays on First & Third Summer Market & Music Festival to begin this Thursday

The Rochester Downtown Alliance's Thursdays on First & 3rd Summer Market & Music Festival begins Thursday, June 19 at 11 a.m. with a showcase of events for the day. Thursdays on First & 3rd will be held on the newly renovated Peace Plaza, down 1st Avenue and continuing to Historic 3rd Street with the event held each Thursday throughout the summer through September 25th! The 5th annual market is bigger and more diverse than ever with great live music, a tasteful spread of outdoor food choices, a vivid mix of market vendors showcasing local products, and an additional acoustical music stage on Historic 3rd Street. The number of vendors has more than doubled from 2007, so be sure to come downtown each Thursday this summer to celebrate community, arts, music, food and fun!

At 4 p.m, the Rochester Downtown Alliance, together with the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, will hold a ribbon-cutting for the new Peace Plaza. The public is encouraged to attend. A more formal Grand Opening for the Peace Plaza will take place later this year. At 4:30 p.m., Daniel Heublin & Friends will open on the Peace Plaza main stage, with headliner Johnny Russler and the Beach Bum Band bringing a taste of the Caribbean to downtown Rochester with music made famous by Jimmy Buffett from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Multi-instrumentalist Trevor Marty will be performing acoustically on the Historic 3rd Street stage from 7 - 8:30 pm. Check out additional bands at www.downtownrochestermn.com.