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Murphy – After becoming a Main Street Community, the town is at again.
The Main Street America is a program of the National Main Street Center, which is focused on preservation-based community revitalization. Murphy received its designation in July 2022 and, true to its mission, Murphy works to support sustainable economic revitalization. It was with this community-based focus that Third Thursday evolved.
The town will host the event from 5-8 p.m. every third Thursday of the month, starting May 18.
Downtown Development Director Laura Lachance said, “Main Street Murphy is excited to bring mini-street fests to downtown Murphy with the Third Thursday series of events.”
The streets will be closed to vehicular traffic from Valley River Avenue from the center of town to Hickory Street, enabling folks to visit food trucks and dance to live music. There will be locally made hops and grapes available, and local merchants will stay open later to accommodate the crowd.
The event grew from the Tasty Tuesdays held at the L&N Depot last year, where locals could enjoy street fare from a variety of food trucks. Lachance said, “We are carrying the Tasty Tuesday events one step further by moving it downtown to include businesses.”
At the inaugural event Thursday night, the band Squirrel Butter will perform. In case of rain, the mini-fest will be moved to the L&N Depot, which is less than 1 mile down the road on Hiwassee Street.
“We want the community to come out, eat, drink, shop and play in downtown Murphy,” Lachance said.