The ‘Burg Days of Summer is a brand new summer series planned for the Village of Vicksburg, and tonight at 5:30 p.m. is the kickoff for the event. The festival promises live music in the streets, family-friendly activities, food trucks, and an opportunity to positively impact a local non-profit. 

Village Manager Jim Mallery told Watershed Voice the idea for ‘Burg Days came during a trip last July in Holland for the Michigan Municipal Executive summer conference. “Thursday nights in Holland they shut down 8th street, have different performances, and it draws all these people to the event and to Holland,” he said. “Vicksburg is the largest village in the State of Michigan with no MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation) roadway running through it, so we have to think of reasons to get people into our town.” 

Vicksburg had already held three “test runs” last summer with events including live music, food trucks, and kid activities, and Mallery decided they would hold an event each week on Wednesdays coming into the summer of 2023. “The goal is for people within a 35-40 minute drive to see that Vicksburg is the place to be on Wednesdays,” he said. “We picked mid-week because we want people to experience our downtown and think it’s a pretty cool, safe, great-vibe area, and to come back again on a weekend.”

Mallery said a large investment has taken place in downtown Vicksburg. “We’ve doubled the size of sidewalks, Oswalt Park is right in the heart of downtown with a large, outdoor fireplace, and both Prairie Street and Main Street have significant bump-outs with permanent seating,” he told Watershed.

Six different food trucks will be on site serving food during ‘Burg Days including Ibison Concessions, Smoked Down BBQ, and Blue Plate — owned and operated by Mangia Kalamazoo. Veteran-owned Smokin’ 8s will be serving a variety of smoked foods, Teresa’s Kitchen will be selling items like tamales, elotes, and torta sandwiches, and Motor Mouth will have deep fried smoked wings, poutine, and smashburgers.

Live music will begin with Left on Main, a cover band out of Kalamazoo. According to the event’s website, Left on Main is “bringing you a dynamic range of tunes spanning from the 70s to the present, Kalamazoo’s most versatile cover band is bringing you a fun musical experience akin to Jack FM’s eclectic broadcasts.” The performance will be located on Prairie Street.

Voted 2019 Chicago’s Best Reggae Band, Hurricane will be performing on Main Street and will offer vibrant genres such as reggae, soca, calypso, as well as jazz, top 40 hits, and blues. Music will be running from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Mallery said it would be a “hard end” at 8:30 to keep the “family-friendly” theme. The closed streets are expected to reopen between 9:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

Mallery said in planning the event he wanted to really focus on bands and musicians who had a following but hadn’t played in Vicksburg yet. “We wanted that because hopefully it will bring their following, knowing people who come to these things enjoy the music and it gives everyone exposure,” he said. All 18 bands scheduled for ‘Burg Days events throughout the summer were secured and under contract by the middle of March, according to Mallery.

Vertical Edge out of Gobles will be providing various kid activities each week for ‘Burg Days. “Tonight they are bringing in a 70-foot by 40-foot obstacle course that will be set up in the street,” Mallery said. “One week they will bring a 32-foot rock climbing wall, one week they will bring a mechanical bull.” 

Other ‘Burg Days activities throughout the summer will include hands-on art activities for kids and families thanks to a partnership with the Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center. “Also, three out of the nine weeks for this event we will have silent disco set up in one of the buildings,” Mallery said, explaining a professional DJ will pump various genres of music into different headphones for participants to dance along. 

Each of the nine weeks during the ‘Burg Days of Summer will feature a non-profit that impacts the Village of Vicksburg residents in some way. “Tonight’s nonprofit is Generous Hands, which is an organization that provides school supplies for families and individuals in need, whether it’s backpacks, coats, mittens, or school supplies for Vicksburg Community Schools,” Mallery said.

A donation spot will be in the center of the event at Main Street and Prairie Street, and 100% of those funds raised will go back to Generous Hands. “We are trying to create a free, chill, music area but also saying if you have it within your heart and your means let’s impact this nonprofit that will return their investment to individuals in need within the Village of Vicksburg,” he said.

Mallery expects 3,000 people to gather for the inaugural ‘Burg Days event, and said the retail stores will be staying open late to accommodate shoppers during the festival. Funding for the event has come from grant funding, as well as economic development funds from the Vicksburg Downtown Development Authority. Mallery reported the whole program will be between $40,000 and $50,000.

The ‘Burg Days of Summer will kickoff tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Oswalt Park in downtown Vicksburg. More information is available on the event’s website.

Beca Welty is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice.