Yacht Rock Friday…

Imagine that it’s 1981 and you’re cruising the Atlantic shores of the Hamptons with your friends. Bikinis are fluorescent, polo collars are popped, and boat shoes are rocked sockless. In the background, your booming sound system plays the soft-rock sounds of Michael McDonald, Olivia Newton-John, Hall and Oates, Christopher Cross and Air Supply. Dream no more. Reliving the feel-good hits of a genre now called “Yacht Rock” can be yours this Friday night in Fountain Park.

This Feel Good Friday culminates the 2022 Series in Fountain Park with a flourish! Downtown Van Wert is a destination for live entertainment, fantastic food, and on-tap drinks thanks to a collaboration between Van Wert Live events and The Van Wert Chamber of Commerce. The celebration marks the observance of 100 years of the Van Wert Chamber serving the Van Wert businesses and community.

The good times begin at 6 p.m. with food vendors featuring Gibson’s Barnyard BBQ and CJ’s Shaved Ice. Second Crossing Brewery will be on-site with beverage service thanks to the Van Wert Chamber. (Please note that DORA is not in effect this Friday. The only alcoholic beverages permitted in Fountain Park will be through Second Crossing Brewery.) The Van Wert Live marketing team will be on-site with an opportunity to sign up for the Niswonger On The Road Grand Prize trip for two to Nashville.

The Feel Good Friday live entertainment begins at 7:30 p.m. with The Docksiders. This highly acclaimed band is made up of veteran musicians from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, led by three-time Grammy nominee, Kevin Sucher. Their unique tribute act of favorite soft rock songs of the 70s and 80s has been entertaining thousands of people for years and audiences are only getting bigger. The Docksiders show-stopping hit song after hit song, costume changes, and visual production is only topped by their world-class performance. The Docksiders is Yacht Rock at its finest.

Fountain Park in Downtown Van Wert has been the Friday night host to well over 8,000 guests this summer. The Van Wert Live team extends great gratitude to The Van Wert County Foundation who makes the Feel Good Friday Summer Series a reality. The high quality of the performances every Friday night has beckoned guests from near and far and would not be possible without the financial investment of The Foundation. Not only does live entertainment make us feel good, but it also creates a well-resourced and thriving quality of life for residents of Van Wert County and far beyond.