BURRILLVILLE – In the latest effort to bring activity and life to a once quiet village, the Burrillville Redevelopment Agency will offer free concerts at Fountain Square Park on select Fridays this summer.
The free entertainment kicks off this week with a performance by The Live Music Band from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the bandstand just above the small park, built in 2023.
Redevelopment Agency Chairman Jim Langlois said the event will be just the first of three or four to take place through July and August.
“It’s about visibility and activity,” said Langlois, noting the idea stemmed from concerns that the attraction of the state’s beaches takes away much of the traffic from the area during the summer months. The evening concerts and dinner in Pascoag, he notes, could be an enjoyable end to a leisurely trip to the southern half of Rhode Island.
While some of the scheduling is still in planning, a second concert has already been planned for Friday, August 15, when True North will perform at the village park from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Compared to the agency’s popular “splash” events, held in Pascoag in both spring and fall over the past few years, Langlois noted that the planned summer concerts are small in scale. Pascoag Main Street will remain open throughout the events and the street must legally remain alcohol free – with many options for food and drink in easy walking distance. The small park is situated by Bravo Brewing Company, Elayna’s, George’s Pizza, Thai Wok Street Food, Cow’s Tail Deli and more, and the Dinolicious food truck will be on site.
“Under normal conditions, alcohol is not allowed in town parks,” said Langlois.
And while the concerts are of much smaller scale than the popular splash events surrounding the fountain – a replica of those once found throughout town to accommodate horses traveling through that was installed by the agency – the effort is inspired by the same purpose: to add life to Pascoag.
“The Redevelopment Agency of Burrillville likes to keep momentum going forward,” Langlois said.
A somewhat late addition for a busy group tasked with revitalizing the mill town one village at a time, the concerts will have just one additional vendor, with the Burrillville 250 Committee selling coins commemorating the country’s landmark anniversary coins at $20 each.
“The first year is an experiment,” Langlois said of the initiative. “It’s a fairly simple thing: come and grab something to eat, roam around, and enjoy.”
