Visitors to Main Street in downtown Kingsport recently experienced all this at more at the 'local' festival called Localpalooza.
Click here to see pictures from the Localpalooza Festival in downtown Kingsport on September 24th.
Localpalooza is the brainchild of Billy Cody, organizer of the event, who found himself with a lot of time on his hands, but a dedication in his heart.
"I got laid off," he says. "and I had all this time with nothing to do. I had always been thinking that there was a need for a local musical festival to spotlight some of the local bands in this area. Funfest was the only local venue where the smaller, less visible bands could be seen, but Funfest is a once-a-year event. I thought it'd be great if we could showcase them more than time, and the idea for Localpalooza grew out of that."
The festival had a little bit of everything, in addition to the music.
For families, food vendors set up stands, and if it could be fried, spread out, dished up, decorated, whirled around or stuck on a stick, they found it for sale and edible. One of the vendors was the 'food coach' operated by members of the Great Commission Church in Borden Village.
Cody has a specific demographic he wants to reach with the festival.
"I targeted the 30 to 30-something crowd," he says. "We had local bands like Rainroad Angles, Shake Ragg, Wolf Creek and Goldrush in the afternoon, and then Quarter Bounc, Twitch, Sloe Gyn, Tattoo Bruise and Citizen Kane playing in the evening. People got to hear these local folks and they didn't have to wait for Funfest, or try to see them in some of the local bars. It's hard for the 18-to-35 demographic to find a place to enjoy them without a hassle."
