Sun Drop Dayz has rousing debut

Now, this is how you start a summer.

Sun Drop Dayz, a new outdoor festival in downtown Shawano, ushered in the summer season Friday with a sun-drenched, beer-chugging, rock-and-rolling good time for hundreds of people.

The festival grounds along Elizabeth Street drew an enthusiastic crowd of young and old alike who were eager to experience the new event, which resumes on Saturday.

Organizers hope to repeat the two-day festival annually as a way of establishing a new community tradition with a major summer kickoff event.

Festival goers applauded the effort Friday and immersed themselves in what they agreed should become a yearly blowout of a good time.

Tony Mielke acknowledged that, without the festival, he probably would have been at home on his couch. Instead, Mielke sipped a cold beer and enjoyed listening to live music.

“It’s a good thing,” he said. “I’m hoping they do it again every year.”

Although no attendance estimates were immediately available, the festival grounds filled up fast and the crowd easily surpassed several hundred within the first couple of hours.

Sunny skies and temperatures around 80 degrees created the ideal conditions.

“I’m really smiling inside and outside,” organizer Wendy Crawford said. “We’re ready for the community to come and share in this experience.”

The festival resumes Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with more live music, a wider variety of food and beverage vendors, and numerous other activities for children.

The event is the brainchild of Leadership Shawano County, a civic group formed by the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce to pursue community improvement efforts. Members of the group in 2016 decided to organize a new start-of-summer festival.

Organizers theorized that the end-of-summer Shawano County Fair should be matched with a similarly elaborate event marking the beginning of the season.

After Sun Drop soda bottler Twig’s Beverage Inc. agreed to become the namesake sponsor, volunteers spent months meeting at Twig’s Beverage facilities planning the event. Twig’s Beverage President Dan Hartwig was on hand Friday with several company volunteers and the “Sunny Sun Drop” mascot.

Admission to the festival is free, although patrons pay $1 for a wristband to purchase alcoholic beverages, and many other vendors are selling food and other beverages. Patrons could get a fish fry for $10, cheese curds for $6, a can of beer for $3 or a Sun Drop soda for $1.

Tyler Miller, who was in attendance with family members, said he was happy to see something new in Shawano, and he was impressed by the event’s organization.

“I think it’s put together well,” he said. “Everyone seems to be on top of everything.”

Another patron, Cheri Manning, strolled the grounds with friend Jill Schneider and said she was pleased to see all the attractions neatly assembled within easy walking distance of one another. Both women raised their Sun Drop soda cans and gave the new event rave reviews.

“I think this is the beginning of a good thing — I really do,” Manning said.

The festivities kicked off with a fish fry, barbecue sandwiches and other dinner choices, while folk music performer Randy Bruce used his guitar and banjo to get the music going. The Cougars rock band then took the stage and fired up the crowd with a high-energy repertoire of classic rock songs.

Several tents were available for those who prefer being in the shade, but many festival goers baked in the sun and danced to the music.

Shawano Mayor Jeanne Cronce delivered a welcoming message and implored the crowd: “Just enjoy yourself and have fun.”

Dana Razo brought her two children, ages 12 and 6, to grab a bite to eat and to see the excitement. Razo said the event had so much going on, she planned to come back later Friday with neighbors — and then to bring the kids back again on Saturday.

Razo said she could not think of a better way to start the summer.

“I think this is pretty good,” she said. “It’s always nice when there’s something new.”