When Corey Coronis had converted an old downtown building into a home, he could take a look out of the window of the building and could picture a lot of potential for what downtown Pampa could be.
“I was stepping outside on Cuyler Street and was looking around at all of the needs we need to do downtown,” Coronis said. “It’s the heart of any city and it’s our most historical part as it is with any small town. It’s a unique area that gets over-looked.”
As small towns not only across Texas, but the nation, continue to see revitalization projects, Coronis would like to see something similar with Pampa.
“Honestly, out of a selfish desire, I looked out there and could see a concert,” Coronis said. “I could see a ton of people. The first band that came to mind was Cooder Graw. Matt (Martindale, lead singer) is from Pampa and everyone loves him when he is here. I’ve seen them several times in Pampa.”
Coronis noted that prior events featuring Cooder Graw have had low turnout due to the lack of promotion and he wants to change that with PampaFest.
After visiting with Gray County Judge Chris Porter and City Manager Shane Stokes, the idea for PampaFest hit the ground running.
“I chose that date of Aug. 21 to push it as late in the summer as possible,” Coronis said. “That way we would have our best opportunity to come out of quarantine.”
But PampaFest is more than just a concert. While the stage will be set up near Cuyler and Foster (facing the Coney Island), Cuyler will be lined with food trucks from Foster to Atchison with around 80 vendors lined to the north from Foster to Russell.
“The main gated entrance will be on the north end where the Resound building meets Tralee (Thrift Shop) on Cuyler,” Coronis said.
The VFW will be hosting a cornhole tournament during PampaFest with all of the proceeds going to them. There will also be a horseshoe tournament.
“Those two events will start at about 11 a.m. and wrap up about 3 or 4 p.m.,” Coronis said. “The gates to the event open at 11 a.m. and the first concert starts at 1:30 p.m. That gives everyone time to get some food in their bellies, grab a drink and look at the vendors. There will be vendors inside and outside of the gates.”
The show will also feature some presentations from Madeline Graves and Gymnastics of Pampa.
Coronis drew inspiration for this event from Homer’s Backyard Brawl (Amarillo), Canadian River Music Festival, Polk Street Block Party (Amarillo) and Starlight Ranch Event Center.
PampaFest will feature five bands starting with Travis Roberts, Velvet Funk, Michael D. Coon, Zac Wilkerson and Cooder Graw capping it off at 9 p.m.
The proceeds from the event will go toward funding for sidewalk improvements, decorative light and park needs through the City of Pampa.
“I knew that the City had to acquire a downtown improvement grant and they didn’t get it last year,” Coronis said. “So they re-applied this year and unfortunately the grant value dropped from $500,000 to $350,000. But we’re hoping we can punch it through.
“It won’t be enough to do everything we need but if I could subsidize that cost with this event and help us stay out of the taxpayers pockets, anything we could do to help. It’s $25, you have a good day with a good bunch of entertainment, or do you want to pay taxes higher. You want to have fun or do you just want to pay it?”
Tickets are available at www.pampafest.com and for more information on the event call 806-664-8282.
