Teri Vance: BAC concert series in Carson City a family event

I just wrapped up my honeymoon series in my column, detailing the somewhat hidden and sometimes little known highlights across the state of Nevada. It was interesting to see the events and attractions the small towns across the state promoted.

It also made me realize how much Carson City does to bolster the quality of life here. One example is the summer concert series at the Brewery Arts Center.

“It’s going awesome,” said Kyle Horvath, president of the art center’s board of directors.

Each Saturday evening at 7, a different band is featured on the Minnesota Street stage. Horvath said the stage was introduced last year and became the impetus for the grant to fund this summer’s concert series.

“The $25,000 Levitt Amp grant is awarded to projects that have the potential to bring the community together,” Horvath said. “Obviously, it doesn’t cover all the costs but gets you to the point you can hire top-tier artists.”

Tonight will showcase reggae band Prezident Brown. The Southern Drawl band will perform July 23 and will also be a stop on the Taste of Downtown circuit. Whitney Myer will perform July 30 with the final performance by Samba Da on Aug. 6.

“We started out strong, and we’re going to finish strong,” Horvath said. “The last four performers are heavy hitters.”

In addition to the music, the concerts feature food trucks, giant games — such as Jenga and Checkers — as well as an art well set up in the parking lot of the Performance Arts Hall.

“People can talk, dance, communicate, eat,” Horvath said. ”It’s a community building activity, but we’re using live music to get to the outcome. It’s creating a space where people can hang out, have a good time and get into a conversation.”

He said as the summer has progressed, more and more people have been coming to the shows, mostly by word-of-mouth advertising.

“It’s not just one group of people who are showing up,” he said. “We’ve got entire families coming. We’re getting a really good showing from a broad range of people.”

He said it was particularly so at last week’s concert when he looked out to see people of all ages on the dance floor.

“It was like a proud parent moment for me,” Horvath said. “People are partying at my place, and they’re having such a good time. This is working.”

To learn more about the concerts or other events at the Brewery Arts Center, go to breweryarts.org or call 775-883-1976.

Teri Vance is a journalist, freelance writer and native Nevadan. Contact her with column ideas at terivance@rocketmail.com.