Downtown for a Pint returns, organizers hope to raise more than $2,000 for Red Cross
Commerce senior Justin Rydzewski expects the second annual Downtown for a Pint concert to be even better than the first.
The four-hour event features six bands and will raise money for the American Red Cross starting at 5 p.m. Thursday in downtown Mount Pleasant.
There will be stands selling T-shirts and other merchandise, and attendees can participate in games and raffles.
- What: Downtown for a Pint II - When: 5 p.m. Thursday - Where: Downtown Mount Pleasant - Cost: Free
“City Hall spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the CMU population downtown,” said LeRoy sophomore Wayne Blanchard, who co-organized the event. “For the most part, CMU students don’t go there, but we want to draw students downtown.”
The inspiration to create a live concert in the middle of the city evolved from the idea of just having an after-hours hot dog stand.
“We just wanted to sell hot dogs to drunk college students,” Rydzewski said.
Once the idea was fleshed out, Blanchard and Rydzewski — both members of Alpha Kappa Psi co-ed professional business fraternity — obtained support from Mount Pleasant’s City Hall, the police department and a number of sponsors from downtown.
The stage was borrowed from City Hall, while a lot of the sound equipment came from the Dow Diamond baseball stadium in Midland.
Bigger and better?
Three bands are returning from last year and three newcomers will perform.
Jetpack On! will open festivities, along with event emcee Mike Breezy.
The Muggs, The Satin Peaches, Mick Bassett and the Marthas, Millions of Brazilians and Lightning Love also will perform.
Rydzewski said getting the bands the first time around was a stroke of luck.
He went to the same high school as the lead singer of The Satin Peaches and, when he bumped into him at a bar, he mustered the courage to ask the band to perform at the first Downtown for a Pint last year.
“(The Satin Peaches) are a huge deal in my hometown,” Rydzewski said. “They ended up hooking all of our bands and we got five bands together. It’s mostly local Detroit talent — up and coming bands.”
During last year’s event, 600 people were in attendance and $1,000 was raised for the American Red Cross.
Blanchard and Rydzewski said this year the event will be much bigger, better and brighter.
“There’s a lot of different organizations pitching in,” Blanchard said. “Alpha Kappa Psi has done a lot of the work. We collaborated with Modern Rock 91.5 as well.”
After the event, at 11:15 p.m., the Brass Cafe, one of the event’s sponsors, will host a meet-and-greet with the bands.
Rydzewski said he expects around 2,000 people to attend and donations to exceed $2,000 for the American Red Cross.
“Bring your friends, bring a camera and just expect to have a really good time,” he said. “You will make some memories you will never forget.”
