An Early Taste Of Summer Fun

Travis Carrico is one half of the Mondeau Dukes who performed on Thursday evening as part of the first ‘Thankful Thursday’ of the season.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – It was a taste of summer to come when the Oskaloosa Art Center, along with ‘The Alley’, hosted the first Thankful Thursday of the year.

In past years, Thankful Thursday was an opportunity for members of the community to come together, enjoy a social time, listen to some live music, and catch up with neighbors.

This year will be no different, except Thankful Thursday got off to an early start. There was no Oskaloosa City Band to follow, instead, they enjoyed the sounds of The Mondeau Dukes.

Theresa Grahek, a member of the Alley KADTS and organizer of the evening and Thankful Thursday, spoke about the upcoming year in The Alley.

The regular season for The Alley and Thankful Thursdays is on May 30th, the same night the Oskaloosa City Band kicks off their season.

Those coming down that evening can visit the Alley beginning at 6 pm, enjoy the live music there, and then prepare for the Oskaloosa City Band to begin their season at 8 pm.

There will be twelve weeks in total during the summer of the Alley and the Oskaloosa City Band. “Even after the City Band, we’ve come back in here [Alley] and had a little impromptu get-together with some people jamming. That’s always fun,” said Grahek.

Other things coming up in the Alley include an all-school reunion during Art On The Square starting June 6th, 7th, and 8th.

The Alley also hosts pop-up shops on the first Saturday of the month. “Those have been really successful,” added Grahek.

The Alley is also working on adding more history to their walls this summer, as will the next phase of the facade improvement program to some unknown degree at this point.

You can learn more by visiting ‘The Alley’ on their Facebook Page HERE.