Fourth Fridays in Downtown Burlington typically finds itself in the Historic Depot once a month during the summer – but this time it’s landed in the fall with a fiery theme.
The Phoenix Fourth Friday event is the first time it was held while students were on campus. It’s an event of fun, friends and — most importantly to Elon Community Relations Director Tammy Cobb – family.
“It’s really an opportunity for Burlington businesses to be able to better connect with communities and people that they don’t normally see,” Cobb said, referring to the hundreds of family members Alamance County is seeing over the next few days because of the university’s family weekend. And according to Cobb, that timing was certainly no accident.
“This is normally an eight-to-five part of town,” said Cobb. “To draw a crowd like this that is going to walk the streets, they’re out there looking for what is in downtown. For the businesses, it’s really about being able to say ‘hey, we’re here and we welcome you.'”
With dozens of businesses from restaurants and bars to retail and sport, the city wants to let it be known how much it has to offer to its neighbors four miles down the road.
“There’s a lot to do in Burlington that a lot of the students need to take advantage of,” Brad Allen, Chief District Court Judge of Alamance County said. “It’s a really great partnership."
With nothing officially in the books, both parties in this partnership hope to move forward for the next family weekend.
“We plan on being here next September,” Cobb said. “We’re really looking forward to this being an ongoing tradition.”