Part 11
The Return of Summer Promenade
In the past, seeing Summer Promenade set up in Gore Park was a sign that summer was here and we had finally made it out of chilly winter weather. In 2022, after over 2 years of restrictions on live events and gatherings, the return of Promenade means that much more. We are happy to once again encourage downtown residents, workers and visitors to take some time out of their day to enjoy free, live shows all summer long.
The Gore Park Summer Promenade will run every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with opening day starting next week – Tuesday, May 31! The event will be set up from 11am to 3pm with bands on stage from noon to 2pm. The always popular large-scale outdoor games like chess, checkers, and connect 4 will return and it will be great to see some activation taking over this outdoor space once again. Summer Promenade is a rain or shine event, with the exception of extreme weather. See the full line up of bands on our website here.
Having the familiar lunchtime festival run for three days a week hopefully will help bring back a sense of normality to downtown along with the encouragement to once again gather and share in a free outdoor event. Not only does Summer Promenade provide an opportunity for us all to enjoy some afternoon sunshine, it also offers local bands the opportunity to get out and play once again. With the huge effect COVID-19 had on live performances this is more important than ever. The theme of Gore Park Summer Promenade has always simply been summertime fun with the objective of bringing people together while creating a more vibrant and welcoming downtown Hamilton. By creating positive and welcoming experiences the goal is to encourage residents and visitors to explore all parts of Hamilton.
Summer Promenade also serves as a great catalyst for local community groups to engage with visitors and connect with new people. The Downtown Hamilton BIA is happy to welcome community groups that are interested in becoming vendors. As always, BIA member businesses are always welcome to attend the event as vendors as well. If you are interested in setting up a table during Promenade please reach out via email here.
To be able to bring Summer Promenade to life we work with local partners wherever possible. Several of the musicians we hire are members of the Hamilton Musician’s Guild, Local 293, AFM/CFM. In 2019 we also added a professional sound technician to help streamline the production of each show. We are grateful to Dr.Disc for working with us to provide sound equipment and experienced technicians to help improve the experience for the audience and artists alike.
We appreciate the support of the downtown Hamilton neighbourhood that always comes out to see the bands each week at Promenade. We hope that the event can be a catalyst to encourage everyone to explore a little bit more of downtown. We look forward to seeing you in the park!
If you are a Downtown Hamilton BIA member business and would like to be featured in a blog post, please email Suzi Ozer at suzi@downtownhamilton.org