Nevada City sure knows how to throw a party.
For the past thirty years, the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce has sponsored Nevada City Summer Nights, an annual summer celebration of art and music. This year, they were held on July 12, 19, and 26 in the middle of their historic district. As I LOVE visiting this old town anyway, I didn't need much more incentive to visit. It's a bonus that I knew that it would be fun with the family. We took the free shuttle from the Nevada County Government Center at Maidu Avenue. It dropped us off at the Methodist Church.
This area was the best for dancing, very apparent towards the end of the night.
There were vendors of everything imaginable - clothing, rugs, jewelry, food, trinkets, lavender products, the list goes on! We enjoyed watching a glass artist whose booth was next to a handmade jewelry vendor.
The big draw for me and my kids was the entertainment, though. Troupe Al Ama Belly dancers danced in colorful costumes to exotic Middle Eastern music.
Clarinet players, fiddlers, guitarists, and other musicians were scattered up and down Broad Street, covering musical genre such as folk, instrumental, singing, blues, country, hip hop, and reggae.
The biggest surprise came when I turned one of the corners and saw a beatboxing Didgeridoo player. He was later joined by a man playing a Swiss Horn (I think), although his instrument wasn't as long as the ones pictured in the link.
At the end of the night, we watched an amazing show by Aerial Lab and Beyond Fire Tribe, performers based in Nevada City. Pictures don't do them justice.
We were spellbound by the artistry and skill of the performers so much that we almost missed the last shuttle back to the car!
What a fun summer night in Nevada City! I'm glad that I discovered this event and I hope to make it out here again next year.
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