The mural on Main Avenue.
Saturday, September 26 — the mural is dedicated, and it is happening here.
Main Avenue closes to traffic at three and stays closed until midnight. The block between us and La Cabra Brewing becomes one long party — tables down the middle of the road, string lights overhead, bars and food on both sides. The dedication itself is at five, and it runs half an hour.
Free. All ages. Nothing to book. Rain date Sunday, September 27.
Saturday, September 26
| 3:00 — Main Avenue stage | School of Rock |
|---|---|
| 3:00 — The Loft | George's Music |
| 4:00 — Main Avenue stage | Carmen Tomasetti Trio, through to seven |
| 5:00 — Main Avenue | The dedication. Half an hour. |
| 5:30 — The Loft | Infrared Roses, a Grateful Dead experience |
| 9:00 — The Loft | DJ Mike Xtacy, LED dance floor |
| 9:00 — First floor | DJ Mike Alba, full bar, kitchen running |
Outdoor music runs three to eight. Inside carries straight on after — three rooms, no cover, nothing to book.
The day is put on with La Cabra Brewing and the Berwyn Devon Business Association, sponsored by EADEH. Free lots are a few minutes' walk away.
The wall
There is a mural the length of our building on the Main Avenue side, and it was not our idea.
A couple mid-step. A bass player in a hat. A pianist, singers, and purple, orange & teal running the whole wall. It was painted by Andrey — @keydetail — through Main Line Mural Arts, championed by Stacy Ballard and the Berwyn business community.
It is finished. It was completed in June. Nobody is painting anything on the 26th — the day is a dedication of work already done, which makes it the safest date on our calendar rather than the most fragile one.
Why it is there
It was made as a memorial.
The family who built this business here lost their father, and he had served as president of the business association for ten years. The wall became the way the town said something about that.
That is not our story to tell, and we are not going to tell it. It belongs to the family and to the people who will be standing there.
What we will do about it
Nothing.
The mural stays exactly as it is. We are not painting over it, not putting our name on it & not putting a sign in front of it.
A neighborhood remembers a name before it remembers a logo — and a wall like that is a name. It was here before us. Our job is to look after the building it is painted on.
The rest of the weekend
Music inside, either side of the day. Thursday a DJ. Friday and Saturday, live — no cover on either night.
The dedication finishes at five thirty. The band upstairs starts at five thirty. Walk in off the street and the evening carries straight on.
That weekend
- Salt Reef Band The Loft · 8pm–11pm No cover
- Infrared Roses - A Grateful Dead Experience The Loft · 5:30pm–9pm No cover
Kitchen Tuesday to Saturday, five to nine. Bar menu after.
A teal band, while they last
We are handing out the first of five collectible wristbands on the 26th. Teal — which is, as it happens, one of the three colors running the length of that wall.
It is free, you keep it, and it gets you half off an appetizer here in October. Four more colors follow between Halloween and New Year's Eve, and all five together get you something in January.
From three o'clock, until they run out. A thousand of them, and that is the whole run — when they are gone they are gone, and on a day when the street is closed they may well go early.
Bring the kids. They get one too. It will be far too big for a child's wrist and that is fine — it is a keepsake, not a wristband. Nobody is checking it at a door.
Come and see it
Main Avenue side, at the corner of Lancaster. On any ordinary day there is a free lot right behind it, so you can park & walk the length of the wall without anybody moving you along.
Best light is late afternoon. Best photograph is from across Main Avenue, with the whole building in frame.
If you take a good one, we would love to see it — info@660live.com.
Questions
- Is the dedication free?
- Yes. Free, outdoors, all afternoon, no ticket and nothing to sign up for.
- What time should I get there?
- The street closes at three and the day starts with it. The dedication is at five and lasts half an hour — so if you are coming for that one moment, be on Main Avenue before five. If you are coming for the day, any time from three; outdoor music runs to eight and the street stays closed until midnight.
- Can I bring my kids?
- Yes — it is a street party in the afternoon. They can have a wristband too.
- Where do I park?
- Not here. Our lot behind the building closes at noon to make room for the day, and Main Avenue itself closes at three — there is no parking on site. Public lots and street parking are a short walk away. Easier still, take the train: Berwyn station is directly across Lancaster Avenue on SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale line, and you can walk from the platform to the wall.
- Is the inside open as well?
- Yes. Kitchen five to nine Tuesday through Saturday, bar menu after, and music inside on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday — what is on.
- When do the wristbands go out?
- From three o'clock, until they run out. One per person, a thousand for the day, and no way to reserve one — it is first come, and on a day like this that matters.
What is on that weekend
Thursday a DJ, Friday and Saturday live, no cover. The calendar has the times.