For one evening, a stretch of downtown Friend will transform into an outdoor dance floor as part of the community's Fourth of July festivities.
The street dance, put on by the Friend Community Club, will take place at the beer garden from 5:30 – 11:30 p.m on Friday, July 3. It will be part of the town’s Fourth of July festivities, which run from Thursday, July 2, to Sunday, July 5.
FCC President Tim Schrunk said the organization held a Fourth of July street dance a few years ago and is excited to bring the event back.
The dance is free to attend, and the FCC encourages people to bring lawn chairs.
The String Beans will perform at 6 p.m., followed by Brad Ramp at 7:30 p.m. Dallas Pryor will close out the night from 9:30 – 11:30 p.m.
Dallas Pryor and his band are Nashville recording artists. Their song, “A Woman Like You,” made it to the top 40 on the Texas Country Music Charts.
Frontman Dallas Pryor said he and his band play Texas country and red dirt music at shows anywhere from Texas to the Dakotas and from Colorado to Tennessee.
The band is set to release its newest single, “Hammered on Love,” the week before the street dance. Its music is available on all streaming services.
“There’s literally no better feeling than when you have a ton of people in front of you, and they’re completely into what you’re doing there on stage and you’re getting all the screams and shouts and singing alongs,” Pryor said. “That’s the best feeling in the entire world to any musician.”
The FCC is offering reserved tables at the street dance. It will cost $1,000 to reserve a table for 16 people or $500 to reserve one for eight people. Organizations that buy tables will have their banner hung behind the bands during the event.
“There’s the cost of the band, and we have to fence the beer garden; there’s all the expense that goes into putting this on,” Schrunk said. “We don’t charge to attend, but somebody’s got to pay the bills, so that’s one way we raise money.”
The money raised will go back to the FCC to help offset the event’s cost. If the FCC raises enough money to cover the cost, it will put the extra funds toward its other community activities and events.
“Community Club has spent over a year working on this fun event, and we hope everyone has a great holiday weekend in Friend,” said FCC Vice President Kristen Milton.
Schrunk said activities like the street dance help foster camaraderie in the area.
“If you do those things as a community and you hold your community together through activities and socialization, you find a good, strong relationship with neighbors,” he said. “It’s just important that neighbors know neighbors. And, this is one way to help neighbors get to meet their neighbors.”
Schrunk hopes attendees enjoy the opportunity to get together and socialize.
“You’ve got everybody – you’ve got the people that don’t dance, and they just enjoy music, and you’ve got the people that do dance and totally enjoy dancing,” he said.
The street dance is one of many activities planned during Friend’s Fourth of July celebration. The festivities will also include a 250 Years of Freedom-themed parade, a golf scramble, tournaments, vendors, walks and more.
“Every community in every small town supports their community in a different way,” Pryor said. “I’m really looking forward to how Friend gets out, shows up and has a good time. I can’t wait to see what kind of time you guys are going to show us.”
