WIVK brings back a gone-but-not-forgotten festival
by Joe Tarr
After a several-year hiatus, Saturday Night on the Town is making a comeback in downtown Knoxville.
Country radio station WIVK, FM 107.7, will reinvent the downtown festival Saturday evening on Gay Street, with Ronnie Milsap headlining.
WIVK traditionally sponsors a listener appreciation day every year in the World's Fair Park, says the station's Stephen Queisser. However, with all the convention center construction going on there, the station thought it might be best to find another location. WIVK employees started reminiscing about the old Saturday Night on the Town events, originally held on downtown streets during the '80s, and decided to try to revive it.
At first, city officials were leery, Queisser says. But slowly, their enthusiasm grew. While not contributing any money to the event, the city is pitching in with various services. "The city has been an unbelievably great partner in this," Queisser says.
"We think it's a great thing. Everyone has long wanted things to be happening downtown, and we look forward to more things happening," says Mickey Foley, Knoxville's special events coordinator.
Sponsors for the event include TVA, KUB, Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola, Cherokee Distributing, Buddy's Bar-B-Q, along with several WIVK advertisers.
Although the event is entirely commercial country music, the station—owned by radio mogul Dick Broadcasting—hopes to expand it next year to include stages with jazz and rock bands.
The event was criticized for the lack of promotion and warning that was given to downtown residents and businesses, and for the exclusively country bent of the music.
"You can always do a better job. We felt like we had it covered and possibly did not and we'll try to do better in the future," Foley says.
Starting at 4 p.m., there will be two stages for the event—one at Gay Street and Union Avenue, the second just south of the Bijou Theater on Gay Street.
For more details on the event, see this week's "Eye on the Scene."
May 11, 2000 * Vol. 10, No. 19
© 2000 Metro Pulse
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