If you hear loud music coming from downtown Bremerton on Friday evenings, don’t panic. It’s supposed to be there.
The live music is a part of the “Rock the Dock” concert series that began in July and continues through Aug. 23.
Each Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m., a top local band will perform on the Louis Mentor Bremerton Boardwalk in a concert that’s free for anyone who wants to stop by and take part.
“Some of our community leaders were talking,” said Holly James, of the Kitsap Entrepreneurial Center in Bremerton. “We said ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have live music at the waterfront just to celebrate being in this community?’”
From that idea, the City of Bremerton, the Port of Bremerton, Visit Kitsap and Kitsap Entrepreneurial Center took charge and lined up bands to play.
Kitsap Bank and the Bremerton Bottling Company joined in as corporate sponsors.
Today, Aug. 2, the U.S. Navy Band Passages will play on the Louis Mentor Boardwalk. In addition to that, there will be goodies such as Jiminy’s Mini-donuts, VikingFeast Scandinavian-style ice cream and Kettle Corn offered by the Salvation Army as a fundraising-effort for the Salvation Army. Other vendors include El Balcon and Boogaloos.
While the event is open to all ages and designed to be family-friendly, there is an adults-only area at Tommy C’s which will have a beer garden on the pump house overlooking the concert.
Individuals are invited to bring their own lawn chairs, blankets or mats to sit on while listening to the music.
It’s just another way the community is working together to bring people back downtown, said Roger Zabinski, Port of Bremerton commissioner.
“I’m happy that this local effort has emerged to create entertainment,” he said. “It’s just another example of what can happen when we all work together.”
Zabinski said Bob Wise, who is under contract with the port to market and fill the Bremerton Marina, which is in the area of where the concerts take place, helped get the Rock the Dock concerts underway.
“Other port officials including Tim Thomson and Kathy Garcia were a part of this, too,” Zabinski said.
Slated to perform are:
Aug. 9: My Friends The Band with Angela Fleming; Aug. 16: Blue Rocket Music with Eugenie Jones; and Aug. 23: Dusty Cadillac Blues with Aaron McFadden.
