Downtown Aurora “all shook up” for September street party

August 11, 2022 · 0 Comments

Dance the night away while discovering businesses in Aurora’s Downtown Core next month as the Downtown Aurora BIA hosts its annual street party.

Set for September 10, this is the third street party to be hosted by the Downtown Aurora BIA, building on the success of last year’s disco theme, featuring the music of ABBA and the Bee Gees.

The search for this year’s theme wasn’t too hard – it was just under organizers’ blue suede shoes.

“Last year, we had our theme of Stayin’ Alive but this year we’re going with an Elvis Presley theme and doing four back-to-back Elvis bands celebrating the decades and greatest hits of Elvis,” says Shelley Ware, Special Events Coordinator for the Town of Aurora, who is working on planning the event alongside the BIA team.

“We’re looking at décor plans, activities, photo ops, and we’re hoping at least one of the downtown eateries creates a special Elvis cocktail for the night. There are so many fun things you can do with that theme.”

Elvis tributes are always popular, she says, referencing the ongoing success of the Collingwood Elvis Festival.

“There’s a new resurgence with Elvis, especially with the new movie that has been released,” she says, referring to the new feature film directed by Baz Luhrmann starring Austin Butler as the titular King of Rock and Roll. “It is also the 45^th anniversary of Presley’s death so things have just lined up – not to mention that Elvis is just fun.

“We’re working right now on securing the restaurants and the BIA businesses to set up their display out on Yonge Street and we’re entrenched right now in logistics such as road closures, emergency planning and that type of stuff, but once we get that [finalized] we’ll have more time to plan the fun side of this and [lean in] to our theme.

“We really want to take advantage of Machell’s Alley, which is already a successful concept, by taking that to a new level. Mark your calendars, do not make other plans, because this is the place to go and celebrate. Whether you’re an Elvis fan or not, come on down, feel the energy, the atmosphere, and we really do promise it will be a unique and memorable experience.”

Further details will be announced soon at downtownaurorabia.com.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter