Business Crawl to kick off First Friday

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Attempting to model the success of a March pub crawl as well as momentum from previous First Friday events, Main Street Greencastle is kicking off First Friday a month earlier than last year with a Friday Downtown Business Crawl.

Slated to take place from 5-7:30 p.m. on and around courthouse square, participants will be challenged to “crawl” to nine locations, collecting stickers from each one.

More stickers mean more chances to win the prize baskets of the participating businesses, which include Almost Home/Swizzle Stick, Completely Nuts and Candy, Conspire, Inn at DePauw, Moore’s Bar, North Salem State Bank (will have a booth set up downtown), Prime Real Estate Group, Tap House 24 and Starbucks.

More businesses visited means more chances to win the grand prize, which will be drawn, along with individual prizes, at 7:55 p.m.

Participants can simply pick up their sticker card at the first business they visit and set off on their journey around town.

The April First Friday, which is being sponsored by DePauw University, will also feature music from the Mullet Over, a band specializing in the 1980s, at 7 p.m.

If the weather cooperates, the music and prize announcements will be conducted on the outdoor stage on the north steps of the Putnam County Courthouse.

If not, those events will take place inside the Swizzle Stick. The final decision based on the weather will be made later in the week.

“Everything is weather-permitting in April,” organizer Tami Van Rensselaer, “but if the weather’s OK, we’re ready.”

Just like every First Friday throughout the year, War Radio will play the Swizzle Stick from 9 p.m.-midnight.

After some reorganization early this spring, Main Street Greencastle is starting off 2017 with some momentum. A recent membership meeting has prompted nearly three dozen local businesses and individuals to join the group.

In order to take part in First Friday, businesses need to pay the annual membership fee of $40. To learn more about Main Street membership, call the Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center at 653-2474.

With so many participants, First Friday will also be taking a new shape, including the addition of the Greencastle Farmers Market in the coming months, as well as artists set up on South Indiana Street.

The Farmers Market venture is being organized by the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, while the artists’ area is a shared effort of Completely Nuts and Candy, Tap House 24 and Conspire, three businesses within that block.

“I think it’s very exciting for Main Street Greencastle and for First Friday to have members like this — to see everyone coming together and take ownership like this,” Van Rensselaer said.

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