Thursdayz at Franklin lineup for 2021 announced

City hoping to keep newer park going strong as pandemic comes to an end
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

Thursday nights at Franklin Park during the summer months are proving to be very popular as the Shawano Park and Recreation Department recently announced its 2021 lineup.

In its third year, the Thursdayz at Franklin program is continuing to bring regional bands to Shawano and making one of the city’s newer parks a place where people want to be. Beginning June 3 with The Presidents and finishing Aug. 19 with Star Six Nine, this year’s lineup includes Johnny Wad, Panic Station, Nashville Pipeline and other bands entertaining locals and visitors alike.

“These are larger regional bands that you see playing at fairs and other music events,” said Matt Hendricks, park and recreation director. “We’re very excited about the lineup. It’s top notch.”

The coronavirus pandemic required the 2020 season to be a little delayed in starting, but Hendricks is optimistic that this coming summer will be an excellent — and safe — time to congregate at the park. He said it makes more sense to announce an activity and hope it will go on as planned instead of canceling it and learning in June or July that conditions would have been just fine.

“We had a great discussion at the staff level about how we try and plan accordingly for all future events,” Hendricks said. “This one is one that the community has come to love, and we’ve taken the mantra that we need to plan as though they’re all happening. If we get closer to the point in time and for whatever reason we’re not able to do this and things have changed, we’ll need to adapt.”

Thursdayz at Franklin has evolved from its original incarnation, where the park and recreation department tried to mix things up on Thursdays. Besides the bands, movie nights, hypnotists and other activities were all put together, but Hendricks and his staff have since learned that the bands tend to grab people’s attention the most.

“We have some bands that, even though we’re only in our third year, are crowd favorites like The Presidents,” Hendricks said. “They kicked us off last year as well, and they just have a really cool way of engaging those around them. They have some brass instruments, and they play some music that makes you really want to get up and dance and move around and have fun.”

Hendricks noted that Johnny Wad is also a popular band in the Shawano area. The group is also on the lineup for the Sundrop Dayz music festival in early June.

“That band has its own brand recognition,” Hendricks said.

Star Six Nine, the band closing the 2021 season, has made a name for itself in the Green Bay and Appleton areas, according to Hendricks.

“A lot of times, I’ve personally seen them play long venues in Green Bay before Packers games,” he said.

Some bands also have local friends and neighbors entertaining the crowds. Wasted Stay is one of those, Hendricks said.

The season has a variety of groups playing cover rock songs from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, but there are also some groups playing country, according to Hendricks.

“From week to week, it’s not the exact same performance,” he said.

Hendricks hasn’t ruled out bringing back movie nights or non-musical acts, but he figured they would be more suited to special activities the city has.

“It’s not to say that those weren’t successful. In fact, with the movie nights, we had reasonable participation,” Hendricks said. “We might use them for different events. One example might be last summer when we wanted to have a big ribbon-cutting ceremony for Smalley Park. We wanted to have a celebration to get the community out and have fun with music, hypnotists and movies there.”

Besides the bands, the city is getting local nonprofits involved with selling concessions. Big Brothers Big Sisters is slated to be there selling Dilly bars, according to Hendricks, while Shawano Area Matthew 25 will be selling pizza, and Shawano Optimists and Shawano Pathways will be selling beverages.

“One way we’d really like to see this event give back is by supporting some local nonprofits,” Hendricks said. “All of those funds go back into those nonprofit coffers.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Thursdayz at Franklin

WHEN: 6-8:30 p.m. Thursdays in June through August

WHERE: Franklin Park, 235 S. Washington St., Shawano

LINEUP: The Presidents, June 3; Nashville Pipeline, June 10; The Third Wheels, June 17; Grand Union, June 24; Johnny Wad, July 1; Wasted Stay, July 8; Driftwood, July 15; Spitfire Rodeo, July 22; Panic Station, July 29; Eight Second Ride, Aug. 5; Conscious Pilot, Aug. 12; Star Six Nine, Aug. 19.