Thronateeska to host first ‘A Night Under the Stars’ block party

ALBANY — A day of sizzling on the bricks has been switched to a block party on the grass on an expected sweltering Saturday, but otherwise the fundraiser for the Thronateeska Heritage Center remains on course.

To help deal with the extreme weather, there will be cold water, beer margaritas and even colder ice cream treats on hand to help cool off the crowd.

“A Night Under the Stars” will be four hours of food, music and dancing outdoors at the 100 W. Roosevelt Ave. Thronateeska complex. The block party starts at 6 p.m., and the $50 tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at artesianalliance.org/events. The center, along with the Flint RiverQuarium and Chehaw Park & Zoo, fall under the umbrella of the Artesian Alliance.

“This is our signature fundraiser for Thronateeska,” Parker Webb Douglas, the Artesian Alliance’s director of membership and development, said. “We thought why not have a block party here? We have an entire block. This is our first annual (event). It will be every June.”

One of Douglas’ goals when she came on board in 2020 was to have a specific fun fundraising event for each of the three organizations. Then the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the Wild Affair event for the RiverQuarium for two years.

“This is also a way to get other people to our venues that maybe don’t bring children to our venues,” she said. “We are excited. The time is right.”

Music will be provided by the Hollywood Band of Macon, whose repertoire consists of Motown, classic rock and oldies. The band features two female lead vocalists.

Food offerings will include Mexican from Pancho’s Grill and barbecue from the Rib Shack. Bottoms Up will supply the famous Zapata-recipe margaritas.

“And then we will have Street Treats, which is a mobile ice cream truck, because it’s going to be hot so we’ll need some ice cream to cool down,” Douglas said. “Tickets are $50, but this includes everything. I don’t like going to an event and paying money for everything, so this is all-inclusive.

“We have plenty of food, plenty of ice, plenty of water and plenty of beer. Plenty of margaritas, too. We understand it’s going to be hot. We have fans and we have cooling areas.”

The cost also supports a good cause, she said. Thronateeska provides historical and educational programming through its planetarium, history and science museums, and is a treasure trove of archives for the area.

“We have archives from people of all walks of life, and they are all stored so they are safe,” said Douglas, who also recognized presenting sponsor Keller Williams Real Estate and band sponsor Georgia Community Bank. “We are excited to have the support of those two sponsors.”

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