BY MIKE WARREN

MARSHFIELD – In real estate, the name of the game is location. When it comes to outdoor festivals, Mother Nature reigns supreme. The organizers of Hub City Days could argue they had both on their side for this year’s event.

Main Street Marshfield’s annual mid-summer bash July 29-30 in the “City in the Center” brought thousands of fun-seekers to “The Hub” for live music, a massive car show, a Family Zone with bounce houses & kids games, Brew Fest, a beer garden, food trucks, shopping and more – with the lion’s share of activities taking place on a mostly sunny and warm Saturday, July 30.

“We were very happy with the weather, first of all. That was a blessing,” said Kaelie Gomez, Main Street Marshfield Executive Director. “Also, it was really great to see the live music that we brought in all day long. I think that the (Wenzel Family) Plaza, for Hub City Days, was the busiest that we’ve seen it consistently,” Gomez added. “Usually we have a rush at night for the headlining band, but we brought in more live music this year throughout the day, and that really allowed people to relax in the grass. We’re also really happy with the change in moving the Family Zone from the library parking lot over to Veterans Park, providing shade for families, and a little bit more of a balance of activities, bookending the two ends of the car show, and including more of our business district.”

The main Hub City Days attraction was the annual car show. Gomez said she quickly ran out of her 800 registration forms, and this year’s event was an all-time record-setter.

“After the pandemic, we were expecting a really big year in 2021,” Gomez said. “It ended up being more of a typical year, with that 500-600-car entry range. This year we had over 800 cars, and it was unbelievable,” she added. “To see it move two blocks further than it ever has was really, really fun for us.”

The Hub City Days Car Show spans over 10 city blocks along S. Central Avenue, and down portions of several side streets as well.

The live entertainment, beer garden and Hub City Brew Fest in the Wenzel Family Plaza were huge hits as well.

“We would really love to see the Friday night shopping and dining grow,” Gomez added. “We have some very active businesses that took advantage of the closed streets on Friday night (July 29). Uptown Coffee and Good Day Sunshine (Record Shop) partnered to bring Joe G. out onto the streets, and they brought couches and tables, and made it like an outdoor on-street lounge from 5-7 on Friday, and that was really fun. We had other businesses that were open as well, and we hope that we can continue to grow that Friday night event and celebrate local shopping and dining, with the ability to enjoy the street car-free.”  

Main Street’s Saturday events also included the “Be Strong for a Cause” charity strongman competition, which served as a fundraiser for Marshfield Area Special Olympics.