May 30th, 2014 by WCBC Radio
“Friday After Five” versus “Cumberland Comes Alive”. “Summer in the City” versus “Bands on the Bricks”. There seems to be somewhat of a split in the community when it comes to the myriad of changes planned for Friday evenings on the downtown mall. While many say they look forward to hearing newer bands and experiencing a different atmosphere- others yearn for the popular After Five programs that had been a staple of downtown for 15 years. Changes in entertainment and events have been in the planning stages by the Downtown Development Commission for several years- and began picking up steam with the retirement last October of downtown manager Ed Mullaney. In fact, while neither side has aired any criticisms of the other publicly, it is widely believed that it was philosophical differences between Mullaney and the DDC that led to his abrupt retirement. Sandi Saville, chair of the DDC, told WCBC News in a recent interview that its time to try new things and to attract a younger and more diverse crowd…
.jpg)
