Your Town Stevens Point: Notes@Night enters third year of summertime concerts downtown

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) - Notes@Night in downtown Stevens Point has returned for its third year. The event gives the community an opportunity to enjoy live music, local vendors and a family-friendly environment every Wednesday on the square throughout the summer.

The vice president of the Stevens Point Alliance, who’s also the mother of the owner of Sunset Point Winery, Kathy Johnson said she came up with the idea for Notes@Night when no one was able to work during the pandemic, especially bars, wineries and musicians.

“My thought was, how are we going to make a better atmosphere for all the employees try to get them back to work, try to get the musicians back to work and give the public something to do safely.”

So, she decided to go to the city to get an open intoxicants ordinance so people could take their beverages from one business, back to the concert outdoors.

“The city, then, in 2021, extended that wonderful resolution to allow open intoxicants. And then this year, in March, they actually made it permanent, so... We now have it year-round where you can go into any one of our establishments downtown and get food and drinks and carry it around in a distinct area of downtown,” Johnson explained. “It was a win-win for everybody. You know, it got the musicians back to playing, it got businesses able to rehire their staff. They couldn’t serve indoors, but they could serve outdoors. So tables and chairs were out on the sidewalks, staff was brought back, and people could enjoy a good evening downtown.”

In February 2021, Notes@Night was awarded by the state’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation as one of the best revitalizations of downtown during the pandemic.

“It’s wonderful. It not only helped our business here at Sunset Point Winery, but it helped all the establishments. I mean that first year, without it, I think many of us would have died, you know that Wednesday night really increased sales enough to keep us going.”

Notes@Night is put on by the Stevens Point Alliance and it’s sponsored by TDS along with many other local businesses in the area. It happens every Wednesday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. through September on the square.

The concerts are located at 831-899 Main St. Stevens Point, Wis. For a list of the performers for this year’s Notes@Night, click here.

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