Downtown Brighton will be rocking during the evening of August 12th as the Rotary Club of Brighton holds its 23rd Annual Street Dance fundraising event.
Hometown favourite Bentwood Rockers will be featured at the event, and opening for them will be a local band called Wicklow. Link to a song performed by the Bentwood Rockers – Bentwood Rocker – Coming Home – YouTube
Bentwood Rockers musician and Rotarian Dan Thompson told us more about the street dance.
“This is a long standing tradition,” said Dan Thompson – musician with Bentwood Rockers and a founding member of the Rotary Club of Brighton. “It’s a great time, we close down the main street from the RBC to the Rexall.”
It is a free event but donations are gratefully accepted. There is a licensed beer garden area near the CIBC and a temporary stage is put up on the street – with a large space for dancing in front of the stage.
Thompson told us they’ll have a local band support them.
The event is on Saturday, August 12th from 7:00 pm and ending around 11:00 pm as the stage and street needs to re-open by midnight.
In the licensed area, there are tables and chairs but most people bring their lawn chairs and set up in the park.
There is no charge to attend the event but donations are gratefully accepted by the Rotary Club of Brighton who have a long history of supporting both local and international projects.
“Rotary is an international network of service clubs that are located in large and small communities around the world,” added Thompson. “Internationally we are committed to the eradication of polio but locally we also support several projects in Brighton.”
The Rotary Club of Brighton has been involved in supporting projects like the building of the permanent stage in Memorial Park, several gardens and the developments of the nature trails that run down to Harbour Street just to name a few in its history going back to 1989.
Looking for something to do on Saturday night? Get out and enjoy some live music, maybe bump into your neighbours and dance up a storm on the main street of Brighton.
People often think Bentwood Rockers got their name from the posh city of Brentwood in California, so Thompson filled us in on where the band’s name came from.
Lawn chairs are welcome for those who want to sit and enjoy, and seniors might even enjoy a nice Bentwood Rocking chair, but for best results, be prepared for a night of dancing and reminiscing with friends and neighbours.
For more information about the Brighton Rotary Club’s Street Dance 2023 visit Home Page | Rotary Club of Brighton (brightonrotary.ca) or for more information about Bentwood Rockers visit Bentwood Rocker (bandzoogle.com).
Written by Alicia Vandine
