News Summary

MIDDLETOWN — In 2004, Harry A. Finkelman turned to Judy Bober and said, "Judy, let's have a big party downtown."

And so they did.

Finkelman and Bober began the Main Street Arts and Musical Festival, and the annual event celebrated its fourth birthday Saturday. From humble beginnings with about 2,000 patrons, the festival designed to promote Middletown arts and downtown revitalization has rocketed to success with about 7,000 attendees this year, said Linda Moorman, co-founder of the Central Arts Foundation. Attendance was expected to be more than 10,000 people after Saturday night's fireworks at Bicentinnial Commons, according to organizers.

"I think the crowd is growing every year," said volunteer Ann Mort. "There are people here (and) I don't know a lot of them — and that's great."

More than 60 cars lined Central Avenue and Main and Broad streets for the cruise-in car show organized by Mervin Bair and Merl Back of Franklin. Service and food vendors also attended the event, as well as some children's activities.

And, of course, there was the art.

From classic cars to belly dancing to pizza spinning to Exploding Toads (a rock band, not actual exploding toads), the arts of Middletown took center stage at the festival.

The festival organizers invited King Blue All Stars to close down the show at the Harry A. Finkelman Grand Finale concert with the fireworks.

Finkelman, the former owner of the Sorg Opera House, died one month after the first festival in 2004, but his patronage of the arts lives on in the Main Street Festival.

"Harry would have loved this," said Bober of the event's growing success.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2805 or mgildow@coxohio.com.