By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT- The City of Claremont will be celebrating the completion of their Pleasant Street Revitalization Project with a block party on Saturday, August 13, 2022.
Events will occur throughout the day beginning at 3 PM and ending at 8 PM. Over thirty businesses will be participating in the upcoming event, along with performances on a main stage.
“I’m excited for it. I’m extremely happy that we can open up the street. I know that everyone I’m hearing from is excited and everyone’s looking forward to it. I know there’s going to be a lot of great entertainment,” said Claremont Mayor Dale Girard.
Construction on Pleasant Street in Claremont began July 2021, and due to COVD-19 constraints, suffered many stops and starts. After a significant amount of work from employees of B.U.R Construction, Johnson Construction, and N.E.S.S, the project is finally coming to a close.
For those who have not seen the updates to the street, it has become a one-way, one lane road. It will feature widened sidewalks to accommodate outdoor dining, new seating, art, and diagonal parking along the length of the street.
To celebrate, there will be a day full of events and entertainment. This includes performances on Pleasant Street from the cast of Amplified Arts’ recent stage performance of “Emma”. Amplified Arts, located at 31 Pleasant Street, is just one of many businesses located on the street that will be showcasing during the event. Restaurants like Daddy’s Pizza, Sunshine Cookshop, and Taverne On The Square will be open for food. A little further down the street, restaurants like Rocky’s Taqueria, and businesses like Claremont Spice & Dry Goods, will be open as well.
“We’re excited for it. We will be open and see what it’s really like. We had our National Night Out which saw what it can be. There’s been a lot more marketing. People get to see downtown, utilize our bus system and see all of the businesses down here. I’m excited for the Block Party but I want to see these things continue to happen,” said Rocky Beliveau, owner of Rocky’s Taqueria.
Other sure to be popular outings include live music from the Back Porch Bandits, and Claremont native and magician Dylan Tenney will be performing. A number of raffles will be held for local businesses, and food trucks will be along Pleasant Street. To answer any concerns for parking, the city has planned, alongside Southwestern Community Services, to transport people from municipal parking to the Pleasant Street area so they may walk around without concern of finding parking.
While many members of the community look forward to the Block Party, some have mentioned the hope that these sorts of events will continue and not just be a single venture. In nearby towns like White River Junction, Vermont, they have what is referred to as “First Friday” which is much like the block party and held every first Friday of the month. Girard has said that he hopes to, “maybe get back to the days where we would close Pleasant Street and have events,” and that the city is all for, “anything that we can do to help out small, local business.”
Event time and listings can be found on the City of Claremont’s website.
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