Bringing the music back
Revamped speaker system to debut at Wine WalkBy DAN FELDNER, Staff Writer, dfeldner@minotdailynews.com
Article Photos
Downtown Minot will come alive with the sound of music soon, thanks to an extensive outdoor sound system featuring 120 speakers hidden in light poles stretching along Main Street from Trinity Hospital all the way to 10 North Main.
Debbie Harris, owner of Fiancee, said the sound system will feature XM Satellite Radio and will be ready to go for the second annual Downtown Business and Professional Association Wine Walk, being held Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.
"So we'll be able to select, if we want to do light jazz during the wine walk, we'll be able to do, you know, whatever kind of music (we want)," Harris said.
The speakers won't be limited to special events like the Wine Walk or Christmas, either. Although there are ideas for playing specific music during days such as Halloween, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, as far as the downtown association is concerned, every day is a good day for music. Once the system is up and running, it will be used every day to soothe shoppers who make their way down Main Street with the vast array of music XM offers.
To make sure the neighbors don't get up in arms about any late-night jazz solos while they're trying to sleep, the music will be on a timer to make sure it is turned off at a reasonable hour.
The speakers have actually been in the light poles for the past 30 years. The tape player that played music through the speakers broke around 1985, and the system hasn't been used since.
"That's when the music died," said Bonny Kemper, president of the association and owner of Breathe Again Body Works and Day Spa, in a reference to the classic Don McLean song "American Pie."
During one of the Wine Walk meetings, entertainment was discussed and the subject of the speakers was broached. Harris volunteered to help get the system going again and turned to Terry Kongelf at The Stereo Shop for help. In the type of coincidence that could only happen in a small town, it just so happened that Kongelf was the one who sold those speakers in the first place, so he knew plenty about them.
After getting in touch with the person who installed them to find out a bit more, Kongelf submitted a bid to get the speakers going again and went to work. If all goes according to plan, he should be hooking up two new amplifiers and XM antennas to the system to get it going by today.
Mary Helen Hasby, secretary/treasurer for the downtown association and owner of Cookies For You, has fond memories of downtown Minot when the music used to play during Christmas, and she wants to show a new generation of boys and girls just how magical downtown can be during the holidays.
"The music used to play at Christmastime, and I don't know if it did any other time. But at Christmastime, when I was a little girl and we would drive in from New Town to go Christmas shopping in Minot, you walked down the streets and it was just beautiful," Hasby said. "Snow was softly falling and you'd hear Christmas music, and a lot of people remember that. And so we're bringing the music back."
To help set the mood for the Wine Walk, white lights will be wrapped around the light poles to complement the music. After the Wine Walk, red lights will join the white lights on the lamp poles to make a candy cane pattern for the Christmas season.
The Wine Walk has become a big fundraiser that helps raise the money needed to beautify downtown Minot, and they couldn't be happier about getting the music going just in time for the event.
"One of the big thrusts of the DBPA is the beautification of downtown, and to improve downtown and let people know that we're alive and well," Kemper said.
A total of 26 businesses will be participating and serving wine, hors d'oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages. Participants will also receive a special T-shirt if they visit all 26 businesses during the Wine Walk.
Tickets for the Wine Walk, which are $25, must be purchased in advance, and while there are still a few left, they are extremely limited. Tickets are sold at Cookies For You, 117 S. Main St., or Off the Vine, 15 S. Main St. People can visit the Web site (www.downtownminot.com) for more information.
Harris also noted that a beautiful display made by Jessica Fockler of Fiancee in her spare time is in the window of Western Paint & Glass showing the sponsors of Wine Walk.
All three women are excited about what the music will add to downtown and hope shoppers take the time to stroll Main Street to see all the changes that are taking place.
"Downtown is happening. If you haven't been downtown lately, you need to check out downtown," Hasby said. "Because things are happening."
