The City of Winston-Salem and the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership threw a block party on this day in 2002. The party was a celebration of the $2.6 million makeover of Fourth Street.
The project began in October 2001 and involved widening the sidewalks; changing the direction of traffic on parts of Fourth, Fifth and Trade Streets; eliminating bus routes on part of Fourth Street; eliminating on-street parking on Fourth Street; and planting more trees.
The block party was scheduled to last four hours, beginning at 6:00 pm, and cost about $7,000. Many of the services and products were donated by businesses. The party stretched from Spruce to Main Streets, and each block had a “theme” that was dictated by the decade that was assigned to it.
Party-goers could listen to a 20-piece orchestra from the 1940/1950s eras, see classic cars and shag dance in the 1960s block, revel in disco and watch “Shaft” for the 1970s era, and explore the present and future eras with skating and biking demonstrations, local bands, and a painting wall.
5,000 people were expected to attend the party, and about 20,000 people filled the downtown streets. So the first block party was an overwhelming success.
The party continued for 12 years, growing larger for a few years, then scaling back in recent years. In March of 2014, an announcement was made that the festival would be replaced by the Texas Pete Culinary Arts Festival.
Today, a new festival opens that will celebrate the culinary talents and restaurants in Winston-Salem. It will run for two days, Saturday and Sunday, and will be located in the Downtown Arts District.
Twenty restaurants will offer food items that one might be served in the restaurant or business. While the focus is on food, music/entertainment will also be present with a variety of singers and bands performing on stage at Sixth and Cherry Streets.
Representatives of T. W. Garner Food Company made the suggestion of a Culinary Arts Festival when the city announced it would discontinue Rock the Block. Who knows? First there was Winston-Salem Streetscene, then Rock the Block. This could just be the magic ingredient toward another long-running Winston-Salem tradition.
The above photo was taken at Rock the Block in 2007 and shows one of the many food vendors at the festival.
Photo by Molly Grogan Rawls.
