Farnam Festival

[Midtown Gal]

I got to sit in on a fun meeting last night.

A handful of businesses at 40th and Farnam streets are planning a block party called "Farnam Festival" on Saturday, July 31. They are raising money to convert Farnam St. (from 36th to 42nd streets) to two-way traffic. They've got commitments from a few large businesses/organizations to match what they raise, so this is super-exciting!

Anyhow, there's going to be 6 bands (I'll confirm exactly who they are early next week), a beer garden, silent auction, raffle prizes, booths of local vendors and food and beverages. The block party is supposed to go from 4 p.m. to midnight, but I'll have more concrete details next week.

I just want to get this on everyone's radar. These are some pretty ambitious and driven business owners and I love that they're taking the bull by the horns and starting this project.

More details to come shortly.

Cheers!
Mel

[DTO Luv]

I hope they achieve their goal.

[Seth]

Cool! I'll have to check it out.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

That is REALLY awesome! This is a great way to raise some money, garner some attention, and hopefully get support and action from the City!

[nebport5]

How about raising money for streetcars.

[Midtown Gal]

Updates for the Farnam Festival...

Date is now Saturday, August 7.

3 p.m. - 12 a.m.

Band lineup: Thunder Power, Midwest Dilemma, Southpaw Bluegrass Band, and more. They'll announce more bands as they get them.

Beer garden featuring New Belgium and Boulevard beers.

Silent art auction. Raffle Prizes. Vendors.

Admission - $10

Farnam Festival has a Facebook page now:

[Brad]

No local beer brewers wanted to participate?

[Midtown Gal]

Band lineup, thus far: Thunder Power, Midwest Dilemma, Southpaw Bluegrass Band, Brad Hoshaw & the Seven Deadlies, Normandy Invasion

[Midtown Gal]

Final Band Line-Up (in no particular order):

Sarah Benck
Midwest Dilemma
Brad Hoshaw & the 7 Deadlies
Normandy Invasion
The Third Men
Thunder Power
Southpaw Bluegrass Band

[Brad]

Is there any time frame for the two way conversion. I use Farnam a lot more now and I cant wait for the transition.

[Midtown Gal]

Hey Brad - It all depends on when they can raise the money needed. They only need to raise $50K and then they have commitments from other companies to match them in order to get to the $200K needed for the conversion.

That being said...invite everyone you know! Ha! I'll be on the road that day coming back from Alabama, so there's a chance I'll be able to pop in for the very last couple of hours. We'll see, though.

[DeWalt]

Out of curiosity, what would be accomplished by converting that section of Farnam to 2-way traffic?

[ShawJ]

Out of curiosity, what would be accomplished by converting that section of Farnam to 2-way traffic?

Easier accessibility to businesses, for one.

[Midtown Gal]

Out of curiosity, what would be accomplished by converting that section of Farnam to 2-way traffic?

Excellent question! There are a few ways a 2-way conversion will help the area but a little history on "why" might help, too.

Currently, Farnam and Harney streets operate as a set of one-way pairs, with Farnam carrying westbound traffic and Harney carrying eastbound traffic. However, traffic volumes on these streets don't really warrant one-way traffic today.

Farnam and Harney were originally developed as two-way streets, but as mass transit in Omaha started to decline and more people started driving cars, these streets were converted to one-way to facilitate traffic flow in and out of downtown Omaha. This was all fine and dandy, but traffic volumes for these two streets, in particular, peaked in the 1960s and 1970s. Long time ago, right? Well, since then and with the development of West O, there wasn't and hasn't been as much traffic to and from downtown - the traffic volume along Farnam has significantly declined.

MAPA did a study a few years back and found that Farnam carries 10,000 - 14,000 cars per day. This decline in volume, combined with alternative ways to get in and out of downtown, plus with I-80 being just blocks away, have reduced the need for one-way traffic here.

To make a long story short, converting Farnam back to two-way traffic will trigger a reemergence of the area as a viable and exciting mixed-use, pedestrian oriented area in Midtown.

(whew!)

[Brad]

My issues are:

Farnam (west to east) is two way, then one way, then two way, and then one way again.

Harney does not connect to saddlecreek because UNMC is in the way. If I am driving from center like I usually am, I have to go north and then back south on a somewhat tight curve that usually has a handful of pedestrians near it.

[Midtown Gal]

Band performance times!

Doors open at 3pm
3:15- Normandy Invasion
4:25- Brad Hoshaw & the Seven Deadlies
5:30- The Third Men
6:35- Sarah Benck
7:45- Thunder Power
9:00- Midwest Dilemma
10:15- Southpaw Bluegrass Band

[Midtown Gal]

Raffle Prizes & gift certificates so far. I'm particularly partial to the free bar tab at Sullivans, but that's just me.

**They will be calling out raffle winners throughout the event and you must be present to win.

• 10 Megapixel waterproof digital camera – Rockbrook Camera
• CD package from Festival bands

Gift Certificates:

• The ICON Studio for Hair – Lisa Anderson & Katie Driscoll
(3 gift certificates for free haircut/style, 1 free pedicure)
• Iwen Exposures Photography – Brad Iwen (free portrait session)
• Black Squirrel Tattoo (opening in mid-August at 40th & Farnam!) – Melanie Judkins & Matt Dinovo
• Sullivan’s Bar – Dan Houlihan (free bar tab)
• Britt Ward- Golf Pro at Eagle Run Golf Course (Four Free rounds of golf for 4 at Eagle Run Golf Course w/ cart rental)
• Mark Nygard- Golf Pro at Stone Creek Golf Course (Two Free rounds of golf for 4 at Stone Creek Golf Course w/ cart rental)
• Crescent Moon Ale House - $50 gift certificate
• Beertopia - $50 gift certificate
• Kate’s Closet boutique – Kate Shea ($25)
• Crave Restaurant – Two $50 gift certificates
• Prairie Life Fitness – Midtown Crossing (free 1 month membership for Individual, Couple, or Family)
• Tops store – Sarah Hall ($50)
• Candlelit Yoga – Sarah Kent (free yoga session)
• No Excusez Personal Training – Tamara Langlois
(2 gift certificates for free 1-hour training session)
• Brian’s Handyman Services – Brian Warta
• Don & Millies Restaurant
• McDonalds
• Katie’s Greek Restaurant ($25)


More to be added!

[ShawJ]

So what happened with this? I'm assuming they didn't raise enough money for a conversion?

[Midtown Gal]

I'm not as involved as I was the first year, but from what I understand, after all of the costs associated with the festival, they were able to raise a little bit of money. However, what they did raise was not near their $50K goal. I think that their business district will continue to host the festival until it can raise the money they need.

All in all, I think it's a neat way for an up-and-coming business district to raise awareness for their area and to raise some money for a worthwhile project.

[ShawJ]

I'm not as involved as I was the first year, but from what I understand, after all of the costs associated with the festival, they were able to raise a little bit of money. However, what they did raise was not near their $50K goal. I think that their business district will continue to host the festival until it can raise the money they need.

All in all, I think it's a neat way for an up-and-coming business district to raise awareness for their area and to raise some money for a worthwhile project.

Cool, thanks for the info. I hope they can make it happen eventually.

[Coyote]

Third Farnam Festival will be in the Blackstone District on September 12, 2015

image.jpg

[iamjacobm]

Digital Leather
M34N STR33T
Oquoa
DJ Kethro
TBD Band

They will block off 40th from Dodge to Farnam for the event.