Well, say good morning to Kelly Cruz, a rare Friday guest we have here, because normally we have a Brett Hoffman, but he can't make it that he's kayaking somewhere.
And so Kelly was nice enough to come in this morning because we have a whole bunch of stuff to talk about, including first Fridays.
Yeah.
So things going well with the downtown Racine Corporation.
Yeah, we just had a Haymarket last night, which was wonderful.
And lots of great benders down there, people down there.
It was a lot of fun.
And now today we're ramping up for an amazing first Friday.
Before we start, I found it really amazing that when they did the close down downtown to do the America 250, you know, whatever, the food and everything,
they
were seeing concert band down there.
Here's what I found amazing.
When I left after the concert band, there were tables, chairs everywhere.
When I came to work and I went through downtown at five o'clock in the morning, it was like nothing ever happened.
It was like every chair, table, garbage, everything was gone.
That big flag they had hanging down at Sixth Street, and it was like four, five stories high, the stages, everything gone.
by five o'clock in the morning the next morning.
Yeah, that's how it is for party on the pavement, too.
You'd be shocked that, you know, we work pretty late to make sure that the road is ready to be opened by that evening.
You're looking for vendors for that, right?
Yeah, we are.
I'm looking for vendors for that as well.
Okay.
I remember the very first party on the pavement because I remember it was pretty much difficult to get through downtown while they were putting the concrete down.
It was really tricky to get.
So it was all done.
And it was about to be opened to cars here.
They got the whole downtown down.
And the first thing they do is no cars allowed.
But it's really cool.
It's a great celebration
and it's really grown.
So let's get back to first Friday because that's tonight.
Okay.
Scoop the loop.
a term I never heard of till I came here.
Yeah, so of course we're doing a throwback first Friday for scooping the loop.
So we are going to have all the King's men with, which is basically an Elvis impersonator on Monument Square.
We are going to have a classic car show on Sam Johnson Parkway.
So basically right across the street from Monument Square, you'll get to look at a bunch of over 30 classic vehicles will be parked out there.
We've got live music at
about 10 locations throughout downtown.
So everywhere from across the bridge, like bridge tender, chart room, Georgia's Encore, smoke down the water outside, Reef Point, Brewhouse, there's even Davino Gelato, Marci's on Main, we'll have a DJ, Mexico Lindows will have a DJ.
So it is going to be happened down there.
Now, here's something I never heard of Scoop the Loop, until Carol G. and Forte and Jimice here did a show at the Golden Rondel and they were holding on Scoop the Loop.
Let's Scoop the Loop.
it turns out it's you take your cars this is back in the 60s and the 50s take your cars you cruise down main street then you make a right on the lake drive come back around and keep going back showing off your cars
and scooping the loop.
You know what?
What I find, because I think this is maybe our third or fourth year with this theme of scoop the loop, you will see a lot of vehicles down there scooping the loop tonight and showing off their classic vehicles.
So it's really fun to see.
So not only will there be the classic car show, I guarantee all night you'll be seeing people with their classic vehicles scooping the
loop.
And so it's fun.
I just never heard of it before.
Now I hear it everywhere.
Scoop the loop.
First Fridays tonight, Friday, August 7th.
and starts at 4 p.m.
to 9 p.m.
when you can hear... Yeah, was that Mike Bishop?
Yeah.
It looks like him.
Yeah.
Yeah, Mike Bishop.
Yeah, he's great.
Yeah, Mike Bishop.
He's just a
lot of fun.
He gets
the kids going.
So, you know, if you're... You know, a lot of kids might be interested in coming down, too, because, you know, the Elvis movie came out like a year
ago, and so
it's sort of a kind of a...
people are starting to younger generations starting to hear the music too and liking it.
So it'll be fun.
He's an Elvis impersonator on weekends.
Weekdays, he's an investment banker.
Yeah.
That's
right.
I mean, it's like Clark Kent.
Yeah.
Super.
He's a good guy.
I love him.
All right.
Then we have coming up, we have a 2026 Haymarket and this would be on August.
We missed that one already.
Yeah.
We had Haymarket
last night,
but we
have one final
one.
Yeah.
When is that?
in two weeks from now.
So, and that'll be our final one of the season.
So, that'll be on August 20th.
So, mark your calendar for
the final.
Oh, here it is.
August 20th is right here.
Yeah, the
final hay market of the season.
And then you can stock up on all of the jarred, you know, jams, jarred, you know, asparagus, jarred pickles.
We had lots of produce last night as well.
But the good produce.
Yeah.
The fresh produce, not from Taylor Farms, the good stuff.
Yes, we had a local
farmer down there.
If you're afraid of the lettuce and produce, go to the farmers market.
It was
crazy.
Yeah, I bought so much veggies last night.
I came home with like two grocery bags full,
all for
like $20.
Parasite
free.
Yes.
So we've got that, and then this Saturday, so we're really, so this Saturday, we have live music, so Saturday sounds on the square.
I feel bad when you say the final.
And it's a
jazz funk group, which is gonna be pretty cool.
When you say final one of the season, it sounds like summer's gone.
And I always felt bad.
Got
all of August
yet.
I know, but you saved the final one.
That bothered me when you said that because it's like summer's gone.
We had six of them though this year, so we've already had five.
So yeah, so mark your calendar, August 20th for the last day market.
We'll remind people.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Listen to the radio.
We'll keep our money.
And so that's August 20th.
Ivy Ford.
That's a cute name.
A lot
of people really like her.
You
may have seen her at the July 1st Friday.
She's an international blues artist and she will be performing acoustically at that August 20th Haymarket.
Okay August 29th through August 29th.
Saturday sounds on the square Saturdays 4 30 to 7 30 p.m.
Yeah, so we have got like a jazz funk band That's listed on there.
Oh, you want the name of it?
Yeah, well on the on the 15th
is going to be easy flow on August 22nd.
It's going to be.
What is it on the eighth?
Oh, yeah, August 8th.
That is a seven.
Infusion.
Infusion.
That's what it was.
Yeah.
Infusion.
So jazz funk.
When this is over, just drive me over to the home and check me in.
Yeah.
So if you're just looking to, you know, stroll downtown over the weekend, it's really fun.
Go shopping, grab some food, hear the live music, smoked on the water always has live music as well.
So it's really kind of a fun way to just be outside and
A very casual atmosphere.
How do they not see August 8th?
That is the 7th.
So tomorrow August 8th.
All right.
Oh yeah.
We've got lots more music for the season for that Saturday.
Let's talk about the art project downtown.
Yeah.
It's the postcards.
Yeah.
Some of them are really neat.
You know, people put a lot of work in it.
First of all, they're so big.
It's not like a postcard.
It's a giant thing.
They put a lot of work and effort in.
First of all, it takes thought to what you're going to design.
Then you got to actually draw it.
Yeah, we had a lot of entries this year, so we were able to be kind of picky.
We wanted a nice variety of postcards as well.
You know, we didn't want all lighthouses because that's what people tend to think about.
So it's a good variety.
And then what's really cool this year is we've actually made them into postcards that you can go and send off to somebody or collect them.
But we have all 25 postcards available for sale over at the Marina, at Lakeview Pharmacy, at Dimples Imports, and at the DRC office.
So they'll also be available at first Friday's right on Monument Square tonight.
So if you want to, they're very affordable and it's fun.
Like go send a postcard to some people that live outside of Racine and we're trying to bring back a new trend.
Those people out in Los Angeles, they think they know everything and they've got the life.
This is what the real life is like.
Yes.
So they're not fighting traffic every morning on those freeways in Los Angeles, earthquakes.
Are you knocking down Racine?
Yes.
I think it's kind of cool that you can take a piece of the art home with you.
Well,
I've got the lighthouse in my house.
It wasn't the first one, but they had the real lighthouses out there.
And we bid on one.
The actual one we got... It was
probably 20 years ago, because
I think it
was probably the fifth year that they did
that.
Oh, no, 20 years.
Because we're celebrating our 25th year of public art in downtown Racine.
So, ironically enough, it was the one the radio station sponsored.
I just had to get one, and they were going quickly.
And the person of their church, or his daughter, is the one that built it and designed it.
I said, wow, what a coincident that is.
Kelly Cruz, executive director of the Downtown Racine Corporation on board this morning on this Friday morning.
We're talking about all the events coming up, especially this afternoon.
We've got first Fridays.
Yes, come downtown starting at 4 p.m.
We'll be there all night till 9 o'clock.
Gorgeous
weather.
All the shops are open late.
We've got Elvis.
We've got a classic car show.
It's going to be fun.
You always worry about going downtown, running into somebody who, you know, owe money to.
You've got to duck.
Or the better part is they owe you money.
That would
be nice.
Yeah,
you know, it's so funny, you know, they always say Racine is the biggest small town because
Right.
I feel like every first Friday is a reunion of everybody.
You know, you'll just see so many people that you know, and you can expect that vibe.
And I think that's what's so fun about it.
Bend and Brew.
I don't like the word bend.
Yes.
Bend and Brew is
our take on yoga.
And so it's right at the east end of Christopher Columbus Causeway.
So if you know where Reef Point Brewhouse
is, just keep
driving past that.
And you'll
come to this beautiful outlook where boats and sailboats are always sitting in and it's a
It's even tiered.
It's gorgeous.
So the yoga is free.
It's sponsored by Yoga Roots Renew.
And then when you're all done with your yoga session, you're going to get a card that's good at over 15 locations where you can get a free brew, whether that be a coffee brew or a beer brew or a mimosa or a mocktail.
There are so many options on that card for you to
you know, just kind of unwind after your yoga and also encouraging you to, you know, come downtown and stay downtown for a little bit.
So it's, it's amazing.
Um, we've been doing it now for about five or six years and it keeps growing.
We do it three times a week.
So you can do it Saturdays at eight AM or nine AM and then Wednesdays at six PM.
So there's an evening one and then there's two Saturday morning ones for you to choose from.
Is that where they bend themselves into like a pretzel or something like that?
You know, it's really for all age levels, you can make
it as
much as you want.
But if you haven't tried this yet and you're a fan of yoga, or just want to, I mean, the view, this area, if you've never driven down past Reef Point Brewhouse and seen this, you are going to be shocked.
It's like a little hidden gem in downtown.
Yeah, it really is.
It's a nice drive to take around there too.
Yeah.
Okay, the Racine Farmers Market at Festival Park, which, okay, you got Festival Park, you got, actually it's called Rotary Park.
Rotary Park, Festival Park, Festival Hall.
So it's there and it's on Saturdays from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m., fresh produce.
That's where I got it.
Yeah, you can
also get your produce there.
They've got a lot of vendors
and a lot of farmers.
They got the good stuff.
They do.
Everything
is good and organic and just come down there.
It's a really nice way to support these local farmers and, you know,
come downtown, do some yoga, get your grocery shopping done at the market, go for a nice stroll, listen to the music later in the afternoon.
So we always try to keep downtown hopping.
Okay, and let's talk about party on the pavement.
It's usually in October,
right?
Actually, it is September 19th, this
party on the pavement.
We've been creeping it up a little earlier because there was a few times we had like snowflakes
in October.
It used to be
the first Saturday in October, but now we've done it as like the third week in September, seems to
be a little bit better weather wise for us, but who knows, right?
But we have opportunity for vendors and nonprofits to come on down and showcase your business in front of 15,000 people.
So this is a really unique opportunity.
It's sort of like a market on steroids for that day, I would say.
And it goes on from blocks and blocks.
Yes, it's 12 blocks.
This year, we have like,
Five stages of live music.
We've got a mini German fest going on.
We've got Mexican dancers.
We've got a classic car show.
We have axe throwing.
We've got disc
golf.
Axe throwing.
We're adding axe throwing.
We've got disc golf.
We've got Bernie Brewer is going to be there.
We have so much going on.
We have BMX going on.
We're going to do live wrestling.
It's going to be so
much.
Live wrestling?
Who's doing that?
Yeah, they do live wrestling performances like in the ring, like what you see on
like
WWE.
There's a local group that does this.
It is so much fun to watch.
So they'll do performances throughout the day as well.
So mark your calendars.
September 19th, party of the pavement, bigger, better than ever.
It's 100% free to attend, to watch the BMX is free, to watch all the live music, the German Fest, everything.
Come now and bring your family.
It is, I think it's still in town, Racine's best day.
Now, are you going to do the dunk tank with those high school kids?
Oh, usually the case palms will
do that.
I feel so bad for them.
They get up on that platform.
Well,
they do pie a palm too.
I know, but they get up on that platform, they sit there, boom, they're dunked again.
Yeah.
Because you always get some guy up there or some woman who knows how to throw the ball and hits it hard.
And they go into this and sometimes it's chilly out in this dunk tank.
I feel terrible for them.
Yes.
So if they
raise money, if
you are a vendor or a nonprofit or, you know, or your kid's sports group or organization, it's a great opportunity for you to raise some funds, do something creative.
But vendor apps are due August 22.
20 seconds.
So it's coming up quick.
So they do, you know, and within two weeks now, and we are not taking any late vendors.
So
if you miss it,
you're out and there's no exception.
So please, if you're interested, make sure you're talking to your church groups, your sports groups, your nonprofits that you're a part of and come on down.
Okay.
So how do they, you say, oh, there's 20 seconds is the deadline.
And it's a couple of weeks.
Where do they go to sign up for the event, to be a vendor?
Yeah, so just go to racingdowntown.com and select the party on the payment tab.
Can they go to your office?
They can also go to our office and do it right in person there and we can answer any questions that they might have.
And where's the office?
425 Main Street.
Right downtown, look at that.
Yeah, and when you're doing that at 425, you can pick up some postcards too.
Hotel Verdant, they have this beautiful parking lot they built in the back there.
Yeah.
Cause I always say, where are these people parking?
Not like at this gorgeous parking lot, that whole new pavement and everything.
And they're opening something next door.
I sort of saw it to the
spa.
Spa, yep.
It's like a high-end spa.
So that should be opening up this fall, which would be great.
They're actually going to be tearing down the McMinn parking ramp, which is on like sixth and main, or seventh and main six, six, between six and seven.
What'd you call it though?
McMinn parking ramp.
I don't know where that is.
Okay, you said it's 7th and main
yeah on Main Street between 6 and 7th Street
You look that up on a map
kind of by the post office across the street.
Oh, I know where the post office.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a ramp So that'll be coming down this fall It'll be I think a surface lot for a while to people like surface lots I think
Yeah, because you don't have to climb steps to get you feel
like you can see your car You know, there's definitely advantage to that.
So
and I'll just give a little kicker here coming up
downtown at the Racine Heritage Museum.
We are now putting it together with Chris Paulson, who runs the Racine Heritage Museum.
What are the directors there?
And this December, you'll be able to see a special exhibit on WRJN's 100th anniversary.
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah, you know, we've got one of my good friends, Craig, who works down at the Heritage Museum
with
Chris Paulson, and he's Mr. Downtown.
His band will be performing, me and Jake, August 14th on Monument Square.
Look at you.
You've got a plug for everything.
I know, right?
A couple of these.
Oh, I... It's all
up here.
Wait a second.
There goes Paulson, my friend.
I can drag the plug over to... Look how I connected the dots and got a plug in.
From Chris Paulson, Craig, who works there, who used to work for DRC, who has a band.
He called me and Jake who will be performing at Saturday Sounds August 14th.
How's that?
That's like Kevin Bacon game.
I
could do it in less than six connections.
Okay, real quick.
Coming up tonight or is it Friday night?
Yes, tonight.
So Friday night.
First Friday, scoop the loop
with throwback.
We're going to see Elvis.
You're going to have a classic car show, bring the whole family down, shops are open late.
So please come and support those small businesses, make some purchases.
We love that and come hungry because there's lots of food options.
Now you're saying to yourself, well, Don, I missed the beginning of what Kelly Cris was saying.
How am I going to hear it again?
It'll be podcast later today at WRJN.com.
It's civicmedia.us.
And also we got it on Spotify and Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.
Easier just go to WRJN.com.
Click on Don Rosen Show.
And the podcast will be there later today.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Is it tough getting up and coming in here in the morning?
No, I'm an early riser.
OK.
Yeah.
Yeah, I always say some people seven o'clock, seven o'clock, and I come in at noon.
You come in at noon, I'm going to be here.
Well, you know, anytime you invite me, I'll be here.
I know.
Thank you, Kelly.