Urban Nights! 

Celebrate Downtown’s Creative Side at Urban Nights

Event Set for Friday, May 16 from 5 to 10 p.m.

On Friday, May 16, from 5 to 10 p.m., downtown will come alive with the energy of Urban Nights. This popular event brings out downtown’s creative side, and more than 100 businesses, organizations and other unique venues will be on display for the community to enjoy.

Urban Nights showcases downtown’s dining & nightlife, art, music, retail, and housing. Businesses and restaurants offer special discounts, artists and galleries open their doors to the public, roving musicians and entertainers of all kinds perform throughout the center city, and downtown’s most impressive urban living options are open for tours. Close to a hundred creative places and spaces will be a part of the event, including locations throughout downtown, the Oregon Arts District and the Wright-Dunbar Business Village. A map of participating venues and a complete performance schedule will be available online at downtowndayton.org in early May.

New to this year’s event will be the first tours of downtown’s newest, “greenest” housing from the Litehouse Development Group. A model of this eco-friendly townhome will be open during Urban Nights at the corner of Patterson Boulevard and Ice Avenue. This will be the first installment in a development planned for that corner.

Urban Nights will also be the kick-off event for City Life ’08: A Downtown Sculpture Walk by J. Seward Johnson. Back by popular demand, twenty new statues from Johnson will grace our center city from May 16 to August 15, so bring the camera! A brochure detailing the sculptures and their locations will be available at downtowndayton.org in early May.

Urban Nights will also feature exciting performances by local artists and groups on the main stage at Courthouse Square as well as on satellite stages throughout downtown. Also planned for Courthouse Square is a performance by local favorite Velvet Crush from 9 to11 p.m. The satellite stages will feature a variety of local talent, including performances by students at Sinclair Community College.

Patrons will also want to check out the Sideshow, presented by the Dayton Circus Creative Collective at The Merc. The Sideshow is an annual event that showcases many genres of art, from music and food to installation and performance art. A World A’ Fair, a celebration of diversity at the Dayton Convention Center that showcases food, dancing, and cultural exhibits, will also be a part of Urban Nights.

“Urban Nights is one of the biggest nights of the year for downtown,” said Sandra K. Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership. “This is your chance to get out and see all the wonderful things downtown has to offer. It’s wonderful to have so many downtown businesses collaborate to make the event a hit.”

The best way to see as much as possible during Urban Nights is to walk, so remember to wear comfortable shoes. Many of the destinations are just a short distance from each other, and free event trolleys provided by the Greater Dayton RTA will be available to help patrons reach venues in more distant areas such as Wright-Dunbar.

For more information about Urban Nights, visit downtowndayton.org or call (937) 224-1518. Urban Nights is presented by the Downtown Dayton Partnership, Culture Works and Montgomery County, with additional support from WDTN-TV2, DP&L, Greater Dayton RTA, Budweiser Select, Dayton City Paper, Lite 99.9, Mix 107.7, Channel 94.5 and Smooth Jazz 106.5.