Hometown Tourist | The Cadillac After Hours Market & UpBeat Cadillac Music Series in Downtown Cadillac
Hello everyone! Summer is in full swing in Northern Michigan, and we figured it would be a great time to launch our long time idea of the Hometown Tourist blog series. This will be a blog series focused on featuring all things local and will hopefully inspire locals from Cadillac and the surrounding areas to get out and enjoy all that our area has to offer… To be hometown tourists!
I will regularly be featuring different local businesses, places, and events with blog posts sharing photos, videos, and more. For our very first Hometown Tourist blog post, we’re sharing some local fun that happens every week, on Thursday evenings, right in Downtown Cadillac, and is FREE or relatively inexpensive to enjoy: The Cadillac After Hours Market and the UpBeat Cadillac Music Series.
The UpBeat Cadillac Series has been a summer tradition in Cadillac for some time. It is a series of free live concerts at the Rotary Performing Arts Pavilion that takes place at 7pm on Thursday nights from June 23rd to August 25th. Each week offers a different band, often with different genres, and an amazing show each time. It’s truly a great opportunity to get downtown and enjoy some great free entertainment and a lovely sense of community as so many people come together for a good time.
Just around the corner and within view and walking distance of the concert, the Cadillac After Hours Market launched earlier this year by local shop owner, Marla Courtney of Mildred and Mary. Marla has a huge passion for community and bringing people together and the idea for this market came from that passion. She saw how great these free concerts on Thursday nights were and wanted to offer something extra, to help bring more people together and drive more people downtown to enjoy the live music, and so she launched the After Hours Market. This market is a little different than some of the other markets in the area, as it takes place in the evening allowing more people to stop by and enjoy it after regular work hours are done, and it has an overall more laid back and casual vibe. Each week, she brings in a wide variety of local makers and vendors that fill the market pavilion with many different products, goodies, and artwork. It’s a really fun environment where people can casually walk through, visit, shop, grab dessert, and be inspired by local makers before heading over to the concert or even while still hearing the live music in the distance. Another great feature of this market is that Marla has brought in food and beverage trucks, so you can grab some food and/or a coffee to take down to the park during the concert. If you’d rather go in and sit down for dinner or if you want to get an alcoholic beverage to go and enjoy within the social district, we have several great restaurants and bars within walking distance as well.
If you haven’t been downtown on a Thursday night, you have to add it to your summer bucket list or maybe even your weekly schedule. And if you haven’t been this year yet, you have to head down to see all that’s new! It’s sure to be a great time and is absolutely free to enjoy for all. Here’s a little tour of some of the fun that can be found Downtown Cadillac on Thursday nights each week: