Crazy Days downtown Friday

Crazy Days promises a variety of activities Friday in downtown Jamestown for local residents and visitors.

Main Street/Downtown Association Am-bassador Charlie Kourajian said First Avenue will be closed from First to Third Streets. Starting at 8 a.m. activities on the closed-off street will include entertainment, food, demonstrations, games and the ping pong ball drop.

“We are trying hard to find some activity for every hour of the day to keep our visitors occupied and downtown,” Kourajian said. “It’s shaping up.”

The tradition of Crazy Days goes back decades when the downtown was the place to shop and the day or days featured bargains and sales. Today, merchants downtown are fewer, and Kourajian said he’s been encouraging others in town to join in as well as other organizations.

“Right now we have five merchants and four crafters,” he said.

In conjunction with what’s happening downtown, the Buffalo Mall merchants will share in Crazy Days Friday and Saturday. However, Kourajian said as far as activities go, Saturday will be the big day at the mall.

“Buffalo Mall merchants will be displaying Crazy Days merchandise in the hallways with fabulous bargains for shoppers,” said Deb Thompson, mall manager.

Food vendors downtown include J & L Concessions, with walking tacos and Indian tacos, and Laney’s Cool Treats. Emma Rosa’s Home Cooking will feature German food, with brats and hamburgers.

The Arts Center is selling desserts and drinks as is the First Congregational UCC Church. Both are walk in, relax and enjoy dessert experiences.

For the youngsters, there are temporary tattoos, the Bounce House air game hosted by Education Station and the worm train, provided by the Jamestown Hospital Foundation.

“There will be a charge for the Bounce House and the worm train,” Kourajian said. “The worm train is a fundraiser for the new hospital.”

The ping pong ball drop will be at 1 p.m. Friday. Kourajian said the drop, which Deb Hornung introduced to Crazy Daze, proved to be popular last year. This year, he said, the process has been refined to make distributing prizes easier and quicker.

“Deb promises some great prizes again this year,” he said.

So far entertainment features Matt Odin and Friends at 11 a.m. and a demonstration by the Jamestown Gymnastics Club at 12:15 p.m.

“We’re still lining up entertainment,” he said.

To offset the lack of merchants downtown, Kourajian has added rummage sales to the activities on First Avenue. He said he’s got three participants and is looking for more. Anyone interested can call Kourajian at 320-3015.

Downtown Crazy Days ends at 5 p.m. Friday.

“We just want people to come out and enjoy, get some bargains and have a nice family outing,” Kourajian said.

Sun reporter Toni Pirkl can be reached at (701) 952-8453 or by e-mail at tonip@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, crazy days, news, downtown