Friday Night Live Returns Sept. 11 With a 9/11 Tribute, Then a Dance Floor in Hernando Park

Brooksville Main Street's Friday Night Live concert series returns from its summer break on Friday, Sept. 11, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Hernando Park, 205 E. Fort Dade Ave., and the night starts with remembrance rather than music. The date falls on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and organizers will open the evening with a tribute and a moment of silence honoring the victims, survivors and first responders of 2001. Admission is free and open to everyone.

After the tribute, the stage belongs to The Actual Bank Robbers, a five-piece Florida act that leans on indie dance-rock and Top 40 covers. Organizers are frank about what they expect from the lawn: they want the park turned into a dance floor.

What to expect on East Fort Dade

The concert is the anchor, but the block does the rest. East Fort Dade Avenue fills with local arts, crafts and maker vendors, plus food trucks lined up for dinner service before the first set. Downtown restaurants and boutiques stay in the mix for anyone who comes early and walks the historic district first.

Two practical notes from Brooksville Main Street. Bring lawn chairs or blankets, because seating is what you carry in. And leave the cooler at home: the series runs a full bar and asks guests to buy from the food trucks and downtown businesses instead.

A monthly habit, minus the summer

Friday Night Live lands on the second Friday of the month, skipping the summer months and December. This year's spring run brought Full Throttle in March, The Night Bumpers in April and Jam Jones in May before the series went dark for the hot months. September restarts it.

Two more nights are already booked for the fall, both at Hernando Park and both at the same 6:30 p.m. start.

Date	Band
Sept. 11	The Actual Bank Robbers
Oct. 9	John Hindman & The Mustang Mafia
Nov. 13	The Gaturz

Getting there and parking

Hernando Park sits a short walk from the courthouse square, and the surrounding streets are the same ones downtown workers use during the day. Street parking around the historic district is the practical option, and the earlier you arrive, the closer you park. Families with small kids tend to set up on the grass toward the back, where there is room to move.

The 9/11 tribute is short and comes first, so anyone who wants to be there for it should plan to be on the lawn by 6:30 rather than drifting in during the opening songs.

Vendors and what's next

Brooksville Main Street handles food, non-food and entertainment applications for the series through its own forms page, and slots are filled ahead of each concert date. Anyone hoping to sell crafts or run a truck at the October or November shows applies through the organization rather than at the gate. Details for the series are posted at welovebvl.org.

Hernando Park stays busy the rest of that weekend, too. A monthly yoga session is scheduled under the oaks there on Sunday, Sept. 13, and the Downtown Street Market returns to Brooksville on Sept. 19.

For more on what's happening around the county, visit Hernando County Community Website and follow us on Facebook. Going to Friday Night Live, or have a favorite spot on the lawn? Join the conversation in our Community Forum. You can also read more local events stories and community coverage from around Hernando County.

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