Crowds enjoy first Friday night performances without Indy mask mandate
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The sounds of music and drama filled the air around Indianapolis during the first Friday night in almost a year that Marion County has not been under a mask mandate.
The wait been 343 days of the coronavirus pandemic; that was the Fourth of July weekend of last year.
“Feels so good to be on stage and see real people,” said musician Drew Holcomb from the main stage at Holliday Park as part of the Rock the Ruins concert.
It brought big cheers from the audience.
Stephanie Garwood she she felt so good to be part of an audience and see a real musician. “I love going to concerts so last year was pretty rough,” she said.
Garwood was out with her friends a day before her birthday. “Yeah, it feels really nice to be with people after a year of being so isolated.”
The Rock The Ruins concert featured Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors who played in front of a sold-out crowd in socially-distanced pods of four people each. The crowd was almost 1,200 people.
Perhaps the best seats were taken by Daniel Lynn and his family in the shade of the hot sun. “Time for us to get back to the American way of good family, friends and music,” he said.
Holliday Park manager Dan Boritt was just as excited. “In my time at Indy Parks, I don’t know that I’ve seen a time where the people are more grateful than they are right now.”
The show is a partnership with The Vogue to bring some bigger acts to town. While tickets weren’t free for this one, there are more than 60 shows and big events through the summer at city parks all around town. Most are free.
“It’s awesome,” Boritt said. “It’s really gratifying to see people come back and feel this happy about being here.”
“It’s pretty exciting. I feel like now we are moving in the right direction,” Garwood said. “It’s really nice to see things get back to normal a little bit.”