It had already been quite a South Bend day when I stumbled upon the Red Table Concert Series at the corner of Jefferson and Michigan Streets in downtown South Bend. In the morning, I had biked to the Farmer’s Market along the Riverwalk accompanied by a cool breeze, several fishermen, and a group of children playing in Howard Park. After the return trip, I quickly dropped my recently procured asparagus and strawberries off at home and made my way down the library to get a good summer book.
It was after this stop that I decided to take a walk through downtown, thus giving myself the opportunity to haphazardly stumble upon live acoustic music during the lunch hour. I stopped and sat, not at one of the red tables (they were pretty much all full), but at a bench nearby. Today’s performer was a solo act and peppered his songs with interjections of his family, evidently longtime South Bend residents. It was an exceedingly pleasant way to spend half an hour.
Perhaps I was particularly primed to enjoy the scene or the day. I recently moved back to South Bend after a year-long hiatus, and I’ve been enjoying rediscovering or revisiting some of my favorite places. Even though I’m not originally from South Bend, it has felt like a homecoming.
If you too want to enjoy the Red Table Concert Series, it will continue all summer long, every day until August 31st. On Friday’s, the concerts will move to the Jon Hunt Plaza in a partnership with the Morris Performing Arts Center’s “Friday’s by the Fountain”. All concerts feature local artists performing from 11:45-1:15. I encourage you to take a walk, listen to some music, and enjoy downtown South Bend. I didn’t realize how much I would miss it until I moved away.
For more information, visit here.