By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
For Floyd Hackett, Discover Downtown Joplin Third Thursday is a journey back to a bygone era when people went “door to door, store to store” in the downtown area.
“It’s just a great feeling,” he said of Third Thursday, an event that usually sends people walking up and down the sidewalks of downtown Joplin.
Tonight marks the return of Third Thursday, a monthly evening expo of downtown Joplin businesses, artists and others. This will be the third year for the event.
Hackett, co-owner of Hackett Hot Wings at 520 S. Main St., said it has helped attract more people to downtown Joplin.
“Every Thursday, we get more and more new customers,” he said.
Third Thursday started a couple of years ago with one art gallery, a handful of artists and just a few organizers such as Linda Teeter, according to Lenny Brubaker, events committee chairman for the Discover Downtown Alliance. The alliance is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to support and promote the “revitalization of the downtown community” as a center of “art, history, enterprise, commerce, culture, residence, and entertainment,” according to a release.
In its first month, the event drew maybe 50 people, Brubaker recalled. Since then, it has blossomed.
Last year, attendance averaged between 900 and 1,000 during the summer months, and October’s event drew between 1,300 and 1,400, he said. The committee has expanded to include 15 to 20 members. A total of 13 galleries are now available, Brubaker said. People who say they haven’t visited downtown in years and were unaware of all the renovation are now starting to visit, he said.
“There’s a lot of buzz about it,” Brubaker said of Third Thursday.
Several new features are to be part of this year’s events.
Today’s lineup of offerings from the art walk, a component of Third Thursday, includes fire spinners at Spiva Park and live musicians performing at almost every stop.
Additionally, there will be a “Faces of Haiti” fundraising exhibit for Joplin Helps Haiti. The exhibit will open at 6 p.m. at 613 S. Main St.
The exhibit is a photo essay by Globe reporter Wally Kennedy, who visited the earthquake-ravaged country in February.
Money raised at that stop on the art walk will benefit Joplin Helps Haiti, a local group that formed after the Jan. 12 quake. The group has sent medical supplies, tents, money for food and medical teams to the country.
Features Editor Joe Hadsall contributed to this report.
Other highlights today include a juried art exhibit consisting of works submitted by students from Missouri Southern State University. Exhibits also are planned at various locations such as Sunshine Lamp Gallery, Post Memorial Art Reference Library and Spiva Center for the Arts.
