Hopkinsville’s fourth annual Summer Salute is this weekend with headline performances by popular rhythm and blues singer Jimmy Church and his band on Friday followed by Grammy-winning country musician Joe Diffie on Saturday.
“We hope everyone comes out and brings the family,” said Pam Rudd, of Hopkinsville Parks and Recreation.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and most of the events are centered around Founders Square, on Bethel Street and a portion of Ninth Street from Main Street to Seventh.
Carnival rides and games for children are also free.
Almost 90 vendors selling food and crafts have rented booth space for the downtown festival.
Jimmy Church and his show band will perform at Founders Square on Friday. That show, featuring other artists as well, will be from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Diffie’s concert Saturday, which also features Walker Montgomery, of Kentucky will be in front of the Christian County Justice Center. That show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Throughout the festival, several downtown streets will be closed. One lane of Main Street will remain open near the festival.
There is plenty of free parking within a few blocks of the festival, Rudd said.
The parking lot at First United Methodist on Main Street will be available to people attending the festival, along with the city parking lot at Eighth and Virginia streets across from the Hopkinsville Municipal Center.
(This story was edited to correct a misspelling of Pam Rudd’s name.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
