by Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
There was plenty to do for the crowd of people who turned out for Friday’s Krazy Night Out in downtown Salisbury.
Brenda Overcash took 2-year-old Caleb Johnson to see the Salisbury Fire Department truck parked at the corner of Innes and Main streets, where Firefighter Z.C. Grimes lifted him inside and put a plastic firefighter’s hat on his head.
Caleb seemed right at home in the fire truck and posed patiently while Overcash took his photo with her cell phone.
Overcash, who goes to church with Caleb and his parents, Jessie and Ben Johnson, was watching him for them while they sang contemporary Christian music in front of the Bible Book Store.
Five-year-old Jack Broadway of Faith was the next to explore the fire truck while his mother, Johnna, watched.
Over on South Main Street, the country music band, D.C. and the Chosen Few, performed. Several people found seats nearby so they could sit and listen for a while.
Further down the sidewalk, Heather and Aron Burleson watched as their children, Gavin, Grayson and Ivy, played with the balloon head gear made for them by a friendly clown while a long line waited for balloon creations.
Beside of the entrance to The Book Nook, Melinda Wilson and Tellie Archie stayed busy pouring flavored tea to offer with cookies to people passing by. They were manning the refreshments for the store’s owner, Craig Thomas, who set out a large box of free books for children.
Wilson said most people who stopped to look at the selections had left with three or four. Archie said one woman picked out so many books she had to get a box to carry them in.
In front of Frost Bites, Annie Fisher was celebrating her 11th birthday with her friends, Amery Barton, Miranda Shephard and Bethany Gareis while her mother, Peggy, watched. They were drinking red snow cones, she said, “the closest thing they could get to Cheerwine.”
Over on Fisher Street, Darlene Gaither of Cleveland shared a Hap’s hot dog with her three grandsons. Twenty-three-month-old Nickari Warren was enjoying it so much he started to cry when she stopped to spell his name and the names of his two brothers, Nickarmon and Nicholi Warren.
A crowd began to gather early to hear the Mid-Life Crisis band perform with young and old and all in between beginning to dance as the night continued.
Though there were plenty of food offerings on the streets, Brick Street Tavern stayed busy as people sought out an air-conditioned place for dinner. Waitress Brandy Spillane ó “no relation” to Mickey ó said the restaurant had been packed all night.
A heavy downpour which started out slowly at about 9:10 p.m. brought an early end to the festivities for some. Krazy Night Out was scheduled for 5 to 10 p.m.
The event was sponsored by Downtown Salisbury Inc.
Contact Kathy Chaffin at 704-797-4249.