In this age of digital communication, of tweets and texting, it can be hard to bring a community together in a meaningful way. Miraculously, El Cajon has it all figured out.
From the heart of downtown El Cajon, at the Prescott Promenade, the tempting call of great music floats down the avenue and the familiar aroma of homegrown food catch citizens as they wander past. It is with this combination that El Cajon has found success with their Dinner and a Concert series.
In this age of digital communication, of tweets and texting, it can be hard to bring a community together in a meaningful way. Miraculously, El Cajon has it all figured out.
From the heart of downtown El Cajon, at the Prescott Promenade, the tempting call of great music floats down the avenue and the familiar aroma of homegrown food catch citizens as they wander past. It is with this combination that El Cajon has found success with their Dinner and a Concert series.
Since May, the Downtown El Cajon Business Partners have been putting on free concerts every Friday in the Prescott Promenade Park. These concerts have brought together talented musicians from all throughout the county to El Cajon and the best and brightest local businesses from Downtown El Cajon for a weekly night of fun.
Cathy Zeman, chief financial officer of the Downtown El Cajon Business Partners, explained that putting a magnifying glass to the community was a focus of the event.
“Well we’ve been doing the concerts here in the park for a number of years. There are a lot of restaurants and stores that are very busy here every Friday night,” said Zeman. “And the purpose (of the event) is to bring people and businesses to downtown El Cajon. To do that, we just get together and have a party every Friday, basically.”
Last Friday, that party was anchored by the soulful tunes of the Bill Magee Blues Band. This five piece band brought the house down. From the relentlessly beautiful play of saxophonist James Tobin, to the perfect balance of pain and passion in frontrunner Bill Magee’s voice, the Bill Magee Blues Band impressed at every turn. From their opening number all the way to their encore, the band had people up on their feet, grooving without inhibition.
Bill Magee, front-runner of the eponymous band, had nothing but praise for the audience and the event as a whole.
“The crowd was absolutely fantastic,” said Magee. “They loved it and we loved them. We had a ball man, and we’d love to do it every year.”
One of the biggest draws of the event has been the wonderful musicians. The Bill Magee Blues Band has just been one in a number of great bands and the acts for September only get better.
Master of Ceremonies Frank Lubak says that they’ve saved the best for last.
“The stuff we have to finish off the season is some of the best in San Diego,” said Lubak. “The Petty Breakers, they are one of the best cover bands in all of Southern California, if not the nation. And then we’ve got Back to the Garden. They do a tribute to Buffalo Springfield. That genre of music. And then to end the season we have Caliber. And these guys are just good ol’ hold onto your seats rock n’ roll.”
It would be all for naught if the people did not come, but according to Alexis Frost, event coordinator for the Downtown El Cajon Business Partners, the event has drawn record numbers.
“This year, we have record numbers coming to all our events,” explained Frost. “Just last week, we had a little over 2,000 people attend our concert.”
With the success the event has found, Downtown El Cajon has found new life.
“Growing up, when I was a kid, we always hung out in Downtown. Every night of the week there was something going on. And we want to bring that back,” reminisced Frost. “And we’re rebranding and renaming the downtown district. We really want to involve everybody. The business owners and the community.”
The Dinner and a Concert Series will run through the rest of September on Friday nights, starting at 6:00 P.M. For more information, head to www.ecpbid.com.
