CityFest offers activities for entire family

Start with a songwriter’s roundtable. Stir in some rhythmic exercises. Add in a large helping of running, cycling, art and entertainment. Top it off with two worthy causes reaping some of the benefits. When all of these ingredients are blended together, the end result will be the inaugural Dothan CityFest.

This all-encompassing event will be held Friday, September 10, and run through Sunday, September 12. In between, organizers believe they will be able to offer something for everyone to enjoy.

This downtown extravaganza opens Friday night with the Downtown Music Fest, which features a songwriter’s roundtable. Proceeds from this musical event will go to the ALS Association, which is dedicated to fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Larry Patrick, assistant director/programs for the Department of Leisure Services, says the Downtown Music Fest grew out of a conversation he had with Terry Collins, owner of Screentech. Collins wanted to hold an event for the ALS Association and include it with CityFest. Dothan native and professional songwriter Buddy Buie was soon brought into the conversation. Patrick says “A Songwriter’s Roundtable,” featuring Buddy Buie, J.R. Cobb, Chips Moman, Bobby Emmons and Wayne Carson, was chosen as the night’s event. It will be held in the Dothan Civic Center from 7-10 p.m. and will include a musical reunion of musical talent of the past from Do-than and the Wiregrass.

“The emphasis will be to make this a very personal event,” Patrick said. “The songwriters will be on risers down front, and people in the audience can talk with them.

“The evening will include performances by songwriters from Nashville as well as by musicians from Dothan’s rich musical past.

“This event will kick off our CityFest.”

General admission tickets (seating in the balcony only) are $25. These tickets are available through the Dothan Civic Center Box Office, 615-3175.

Floor seating for this event is by reservation only. Corporate and premium round tables are $800. Perimeter rectangle tables are $500. For more information about table reservations, contact Terry Collins at tcollins@screentech1.com or 792-7010. You may also contact Angelia Turner at arwturner@aol.com or 334-596-2352.

Cycling, running events

Saturday and Sunday will be filled with activities for the young and the young at heart.

“We’re trying to have something for everyone,” Patrick said of an event that grew from the idea of having a professional bike race, a Criterium, through downtown Dothan.

“Several months ago, City Manager Mike West had the idea for a bike race in downtown Dothan,” Patrick said. “He had seen one on a trip to Montreal. He was impressed with the biking events held there.”

Dothan already had two events scheduled that included running, “The Trot with SWAT,” and cycling, the “Tri-States 100.” Patrick says it was important to bring those two events into the plan for hosting a professional bike race.

“We felt very strongly, if we wanted the bike race to be successful, we needed other things to go with it,” Patrick said. “That is where the idea for CityFest came about.”

Next came some schedule shuffling.

“We contacted Oncology Supply about moving the date of their Tri-States 100, which is normally held in August,” Patrick said. “They agreed to have their (bike) race in conjunction with our event.”

The Tri-States 100 will be held Sunday, September 12, and will take bikers into parts of the three states that make up the tri-states region. It consists of three different routes - the 100-mile Tri-States Century, a 62-mile metric course and a 25-mile beginner course. All proceeds go to the Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

Sunday evening, the professional racers will take to the streets of downtown Dothan for the Professional Criterium. Based on a timed format, the first racer to cross the finish line when time expires is the winner.

Bikers can also choose to take part in Saturday’s Trot with Swat, which features 10K and 5K courses. The race begins at 8 a.m. at Poplar Head Park. Proceeds from this event will be  benefit the Dothan Police Department’s Special Response Team. Registration can be made online at www.active.com. Registration ends at 5 p.m. Friday, September 10.

CityFest Market

No downtown event would be complete without a fun-filled festival. The CityFest Market will include vendors offering food, arts and crafts, clothing and much more. The market will be in the 200 block of N. Foster St. and will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Deadline for vendors to register is September 1. For vendor information, visit www.dothancityfest.com.

This downtown festival will also include live musical entertainment, static displays, a Kids Zone with games, activities and inflatables, Zumba demonstrations (featuring Sandy Schmitz and Christina Kirkland) and an opportunity for college-style tailgating as the Alabama-Penn State game will be shown on big screen television.

Special event

The ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks is September 11. Patrick says the city has not forgotten this important date and will include a program dedicated to those who lost their lives on that fateful day in 2001.

“We certainly realize that the Downtown CityFest includes September 11,” Patrick said. “As part of our events, we have scheduled a Firefighters Challenge that will be held on West Main Street that day.”

The Dothan CityFest is sponsored by the Dothan Area Convention and visitors Bureau, Polyengineering Inc., Oncology Supply (Amerisource Bergen Specialty Group), Mike Schmitz Automotive Group, Regions Bank, CDG Engineers, Screentech, Larry Blumberg and Associates, Motorola and APAC.

For more information and a schedule of events, visit www.dothancityfest.com.