By Renee Worthing 

Staff Writer

  Despite recent cool weather and thunderstorms, Summah Daze are here again.

  For the fourth year in a row, downtown Sanford will be transformed into a community street festival featuring classic cars, art displays, musical entertainment and merchants.

  The Downtown Legacy and the Sanford Springvale Chamber of Commerce partnered again this year to celebrate downtown businesses with Summah Daze, the warm weather sister of the winter festival Holly Daze.

  The two-day downtown summer festival will kick off Friday, Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. with the Antique and Classic Car Rally. Registration for the car show will begin at 4 p.m. in the Sanford Junior High School parking lot. 

  Food vendors will line Main Street and “SideCar Heroes,” a contemporary a cappella quintet, will perform. Trophies for the car show will be presented at 7 p.m. and the band MRS [Margo, Rick and Steve] will take the stage in front of Sanford Institute for Savings to close the first day of festivities.

  The revelry will continue Aug. 2 with the Junior Achievement Dog Walk, which will commence at 8 a.m. at Gowen Park.

  The day’s festivities in Central Park include an art show featuring 15 artists, as well as “Taste of Sanford,” a sampling of food from 12 Sanford restaurants. Downtown Legacy Executive Director Thea Murphy said tickets for Taste of Sanford are limited and may be purchased for $5 at Central Park beginning at 9 a.m. “Blue Stream Band,” “Nate and Steve,” and “American Idol” Top 20 songwriter finalist Christie Leigh and the Crooked Hearts will provide musical entertainment.

  Due to an expansion project at Sanford Institute for Savings building in MidTown Mall, children’s activities, which normally take place in the mall parking lot, will move to the Backstreet Grill parking lot, Murphy said.

  Children’s activities will include a rock-climbing wall, “bouncy house,” a juggler, face painting and a magician.

  In order to ensure safe crossing for pedestrians from the Backstreet Grill parking lot to Central Park, School Street will be closed from Washington Street up to Mousam Street from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 2.

  Sanford town councilors approved the School Street closure as well as closing Main Street from Twombley Road to Washington Street from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 1 for the car show.

  Downtown Legacy Promotion Committee Member Kim Stewart also said the motorcycle show, which was introduced to the festivities last year, will take place again, as a closing event.

  Registration for the motorcycle show will be at the Applebee’s and Bank of America parking lot in the Center for Shopping from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

  “It’s on the only festival open to the public at no cost,” Murphy said.

  For more information, contact the Sanford Springvale Chamber of Commerce at 324-4280