Moonlight Festival crowd waxes in numbers in fourth year downtown

Oct. 18—Call it magic in the Moonlight.

Somerset's signature autumnal event, the Moonlight Festival, broke its attendance record this weekend, and recorded what organizers consider to be a celestial body-sized success in its fourth year.

"We keyed in 8,200 people at the gate," said City of Somerset Tourism Director Leslie Ikerd. "But there were hundreds that came into the gate through the alleyway entrance not counted, and not to mention all the food trucks and vendors and downtown open businesses that weren't counted."

So what does Ikerd really think the number of attendees was? "Easily a 9,000 number day."

Starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, food trucks, artists, vendors and of course musicians performing live on the big stage took over downtown Somerset for the fourth edition of the fall-themed community event.

And for Ikerd, who works with a dedicated team of City of Somerset employees to pull it all together, that's really what it's all about — community.

"There's different events that you're going to pay to go to and that has definitely got its place; I feel like our (strength) is, it's a community event," she said. "It's a free event. Something about community to me is that it represents something for everybody.

"You might have somebody that's rock and roll, you're going to have hip-hop, you're going to have rap. Maybe you don't like the whole line-up, maybe you like all of the line-up," she added. "Here we are, exposing you to a little bit of something for everybody, because at least somebody is coming for all of those (genres) and they feel like they can have that connection to music here. While, they're here, it creates an experience. They want to come back, they feel wanted, they feel valued. That's what we're trying to do."

Indeed, a strength of the Moonlight Festival's line-up is its diversity. Headliner Kidd G blends country and hip-hop; Lathan Warlick takes the latter and blends it with a Christian theme. Goldpark goes alternative; others, like Adam Stewart and Hannah Howard were pure Americana.

And Hunter Flynn, who won the right to perform at this year's Foodstock event and also played at Master Musicians Festival this summer, is pure Pulaski County, homegrown talent who was very happy to be a part of things.

"I loved it, it was absolutely awesome," said Flynn of his set. "I'm getting a little bit of experience under my belt. I felt a little bit more comfortable up on stage, and was able to share a couple of songs that nobody's ever heard before, so that was pretty cool.

"I thank my hometown for supporting me and being behind me," he added. "For us to be able to put on an event like this and help raise some money for our community and give everybody a chance to come out and hear some local musicians and have a good time, it's awesome."

Goldpark came from Nashville, but still enjoyed Somerset's small-town vibes — and even did some shopping while they were downtown.

"It's our first time in Somerset, Ky.; it's a really good turnout," said guitarist Andrew Smith. "It's been amazing. We hit one of the vintage shops and bought some t-shirts. The food has been good, a lot of BBQ. It's been a great time.

"You definitely get a little broader reach as far as the demographic goes than the people that come out to the Nashville venues, so it's awesome to play the songs for the people that normally wouldn't hear the music live," he added.

Warlick was one of the later performers of the evening, and by that point, the square was jam-packed with people all the way up to the stage. Warlick told the Commonwealth Journal after his set about how much he loved the crowd's energy.

"I've never been here, but I've always wanted to come to Kentucky," said the hip-hop artist from Tennessee. "Somerset just showed me so much love and I can't wait to be back here in Somerset. They showed love and I wanted to show love back."

Long before the moon made an appearance, the Fountain Square was packed with people watching the acts on stage, as many more went up and down East Mt. Vernon Street visiting vendors and food trucks.

For many of the vendors, it was a great chance to get out and get their product exposed. Branden Sanchez was selling apparel from his Billy the Goat Clothing Company, and was happy to have the visibility that Moonlight Festival traffic offered.

"We started (the company) a couple months ago, and this is actually our first event," he said. "We're based in Somerset. The idea for the company is that there's a goat that's out on Lake Cumberland. A lot of the boaters will go and see him out there, feed him and take pictures of him. (So we sell products that are) local, for the Somerset, Lake Cumberland area.

"We've gotten a lot of positive feedback (at the event)," he added. "A lot of people like the idea. We've sold quite a few shirts. The stickers have been big. We love the festival. ... We like meeting new people and being a part of the community."

With moderate temperatures and not a cloud in sight, it was the perfect time to hold the Moonlight Festival and celebrate all things fall.

"Its been amazing," said Ikerd at about mid-day Saturday. "We've had one of the biggest crowds we've ever had so far. Of course that has a lot to do with the weather; when people are making their plans, that's one of the first things they do, they check the weather."

Of course, while many were local, Ikerd observed that by getting some acts from around the country, places like Georgia and California, it brings in people who have never seen Somerset before — and thus boosts tourism. Having a wide array of acts helps as well.

"Our hope is that you're going to spend the money on overnight stays, spend the money with or vendors, and you're going to check out downtown Somerset and shop and check out all the businesses that are here," she said. "That's our hope, to see Somerset as it is. ... I'm trying to get this group, this group, and this group. Once you get here, (you might say,) 'Oh, I liked this band,' and 'Oh, I got to meet somebody at Jarfly (Brewing Co.),' and 'I found this really cool vendor.' Once you're here, you're going to make a memory.

"For the 15-25 (age) range, they've really kind of spoken to us that we don't have anybody they're interested in (in the past)," she added. "So I brought Kidd G in for the younger market. Tourism angle, they're going to come with Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sister — that's more people that are going to learn about Somerset."

Ikerd noted that her own son is coming to Moonlight Festival for the first time, just because of the difference in musical acts. It's all part of making a community event that encompasses as much of the community as possible.

"At the end of the day, we're not all perfect," said Ikerd, "but we want to work together, highlighting the best of who we are."