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Middletown's biggest block party will return to downtown starting May 21, organizers said.

The Broad Street Bash, a free event that gathers area bands and vendors for a party centering around Governor's Square park, began last year, with four events. This year, there will be double that amount, with bashes happening every two weeks on Wednesdays.

What's more, the entertainment will add regional acts such as the Menus and Stagger Lee, to get more people to the events, said Jim Wendel, a banker who created the Broad Street Bash.

"Year one was the birth year. This year we're crawling, so that we'll be off and running," Wendel said.

Last year, only the area immediately around Broad Street and Central Avenue was blocked off. This year, Central will be blocked off between Main and Verity Parkway, said Wendel.

The bashes will run from 5 to 10 p.m. on May 21, June 4, June 18, July 2, July 16, July 30, Aug. 13 and Aug. 27. The musical guests at the first event will be Gregg Clark and the Royal Blues and the Scotty Bratcher Band.

In addition, an added attraction called A Taste of Middletown, featuring local recipes, will be added to the bashes on June 4, July 2 and Aug. 13, said Adriane Scherrer who is heading up those events.

A number of food vendors will be at each bash.

The first bashes last year attracted 300 people, with attendance growing to 600. Wendel would like to see 1,000 people per bash.

Part of what made last year's event successful was it drew people from around the community, and they told other people about it, said Scherrer.

"We want to bring positive, fun events to the downtown that we think needs help. We're just giving back to the community is what we're doing. No one on Broad Street Bash is making a dime. This is a labor of love," said Wendel.

If people are interested in donating to Broad Street Bash, they can call the We Can Business Incubator at (513) 705-4100.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or

erobinette@coxohio.com.

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