July Jamz brings big crowds to Andalusia
Published 9:15 am Monday, August 7, 2023
- A crowd gathers for the first night of the July Jamz concert series organized by the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce. (PHOTO BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The event, organized by the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce, provides free concerts each Thursday during the month of July on the grounds of Springdale Estate and the overall attendance is being viewed as very positive.
While the overall attendance is down from a year ago, organizers said that is understandable considering last year’s finale featured Grammy-winner Lee Greenwood and there were additional visitors in the city to see the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall that was in Andalusia the last week of July 2022.
“July Jamz was a hot one but it was great!,” said AACC Executive Director Mellisa King. “A huge thank you to all of our sponsors, the city workers, and our chamber board for working together to pull off this amazing free community event. All the children enjoyed the foam frenzy and the little dance contests each week. We ended with a Conga line through the crowd with the children. We saw a great attendance every week and look forward to welcoming everyone back in July 2024.”
Andalusia Communications Director Michele Gerlach said the city tracks and estimates crowd numbers using software that counts cell phones coming into the event venue. She said the numbers show that this year’s event was a big success.
According to the tracking data, this year’s event drew approximately 9,200 people, which is down 1,700 from last summer; however, last year’s Greenwood concert drew 5,400 people for the final night alone.
“We had very good attendance. Not only are the numbers good, but the feedback we received was all very positive,” Gerlach said.
The AACC spent about $30,000 to hold the event with the city erecting the stage.
“We’ve had lots of requests and are exploring other things we can do to get people into our community and participating. One suggestion is that we hold a similar July Jamz event in the fall, especially after we have the new amphitheater (at the future Heritage Park),” Gerlach said.