Many consider Friday the 13th an unlucky day, but Fishers is hoping that day will bring them luck as they plan to stage the very first concert at the renovated Nickel Plate Amphitheater that night.

During a podcast recording session July 5th, Fishers Parks and Recreation Department Director Tony Elliot said his staff looks to host that first show at the remodeled venue, featuring Jennie Devoe, at 9pm, July 13th, as part of the Amp After Dark series.  The concert is also timed to coincide with the annual Nickel Plate Arts Crawl, which will run 6-9pm, with Nickel Plate District businesses hosting artists during that time.

Elliot did say the area to the south, between the new pavilion, named The Cube by city officials, and  City Hall, will continue to be under construction into the month of August.  But the area closest to the stage is expected to be ready by July 13th.

With construction, plans are always subject to change, but Elliot said the July 13th date “is what we’re shooting for.”

On another subject, I asked Tony Elliot to assess how the first Spark!Fishers Festival went last Saturday.

“I think, overall, Spark!Fishers was a phenomenal success.  I think it was a great, great first year event.”

Elliot said the city did its best to honor many traditions of the Fishers Freedom Festival, “but with kind of a fresh twist looking toward the future.”

The city staff is already looking at what to tweak and improve for next year’s summer festival, according to Elliot.  He said the city pays careful attention to feedback and encourages those with comments about the Spark!Fishers to contact the city with those suggestions.

You can listen to the entire podcast about the Fishers Arts Crawl at this link.