Summer updates to Champaign’s Entertainment District | Meet The Mayor
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – On this week’s Meet The Mayor, Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen discusses to the Entertainment District in downtown Champaign. It will undergo several stages, starting with Friday Night Live, which now runs from 6-9 pm all summer long.
Feinen explained that after Friday Night Live ends, the district will be closed off on Market Street by Pour Bros, and will extend to Main Street starting from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. There will be three entrances into the area.
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People wishing to enter will need to have clear bags. They will also be wanded by security.
It’s all to create a safer environment and allow more people to come to the area during the day.
“Well, I think there were a couple of things going on,” Feinen said. “One is making sure that we are programing for everybody. So it’s a space that people can go into. We hope that they are buying food and drinks from all of our amazing downtown facilities, but they don’t have to. So it’s a space where you can come downtown even if you don’t have the money to be able to afford to be in those spaces. And you can listen to the music and you can hang out with your friends.”
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There is also a grant program for businesses who want to host musicians.
“We also, as part of this, are doing grants to our local businesses. So if they want to have bands and they want to activate either their outdoor patio or this space inside their buildings, they’ll have money available through the city.”
Photos courtesy of the city of Champaign
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