It’s time to take in a … ShowDown Town
Photo courtesy Zach Malone |
Come Thursday nights in July and August, members of the Sharkey family in Eagle know where they will be.
“We make it to about five of the six ShowDown Town concerts, and we are always sad to miss the sixth one,” said Kevin Sharkey. “It’s the combination of live music and the community that keeps us going.”
ShowDown Town is a quintessentially Eagle scene — there are scads of kids running around and friends gathered together. Attendees bring their own lawn chairs and adult beverages. Some folks pack picnics and others patronize food vendor tables featuring fare from local restaurants.
“It’s really our style of event,” said Jeff Kennedy of Moe’s Original BBQ, a title sponsor for this year’s ShowDown Town. “B.Y.O.B and lawn chair and just enjoy the music and let the kids run around.”
ShowDown Town will celebrate its 17th season this year. The town of Eagle has been one of the key financial supporters for the series since its inception, and ShowDown Town has come a long way since the days when the stage was a flatbed trailer and performances that included “African rhythmic instruments” drew a handful of people. Today it is one of the most popular events downvalley.
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“We obviously try to get a variety,”said Kate Peters of the Vail Valley Foundation, the organization responsible for staging ShowDown Town. “We try to get a lot of different genres to appeal to everyone in their musical interests.”
“We are also looking for something that is family friendly, because we do a lot of things that are geared for families in Eagle,” Peters added.
That family friendly vibe is what netted Moe’s interest. Kennedy himself is a family man and an Eagle resident, so he was a ShowDown Town attendee long before Moe’s became involved with the event. While the Moe’s guys weighed in on the talent schedule, Kennedy noted the Vail Valley Foundation does a great job lining up bands. “Every week is something cool and diverse,” he said. “There’s just lots of fun, different types of music planned.”
As for Moe’s contribution, the eatery plans to host special kids events during the ShowDown Town intermissions. Look for the return of the popular banana puddin’ eating contest along with other kid-pleasing options. As always, kids activities such as hula-hooping, stilt walking and bubble blowing will begin as soon as folks arrive for the concerts.
Kennedy knows where he will be every Thursday evening through Aug. 21, and he knows he will have plenty of company.
“It’s a really neat scene at ShowDown Town. It’s the best event in the valley,” said Kennedy.
