Come on down ... by the river

By BEV DARR
Of the Courier-Post

The Y’s Men pavilion near the levee at 100 Hill Street will be the scene of live music tonight, as the band Dynamo Hum entertains, and food and drinks are served at the season-opening Down By the River event. The band will play from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
This Y’s Men fund-raiser is the first of five this year, with each scheduled on the second Friday of the month: June 13, July 11, Aug. 15 and Sept. 12. Kris Steinman, co-chairman of the event with Matt Harvey, explained that having them on the second Friday makes it easy to remember, rather than the dates.
The band, Dynamo Hum, has played each year since the Down By the River parties began four years ago, Steinman said. Gary Blomgren of Quincy, Ill., is the band’s lead singer and guitarist, he said. “The band plays a lot of ‘70s rock.”
“County Market is serving the food,” said Pete Friesen, executive director of the YMCA of Hannibal. In addition, “Budweiser products and soft drinks will be sold by Y’s Men’s Club.
“In cooperation with a city ordinance, there is a contained liquor area that is fenced in, and alcohol is not allowed outside the fenced area,” he said. “You must be 21 or over to be admitted to the facilities, and IDs will be checked.”
Dancing also is an option, he said. “There is usually some dancing in the pavilion.
“The admission price is $4,” Friesen explained, and additional $2 tickets will be sold for food and beverages. “You can buy as many or as few as you like.
“It’s a great, relaxing end-of-the-week event,” said Friesen. “It’s a chance to mingle with friends and not worry about cleaning up. The music is good, the food is good, and you won’t be sorry for going.
“The river is not affecting tomorrow night’s event,” he said on Thursday, because the pavilion is on the dry side of the levee.
The Y’s Men first built the pavilion, “and now they have a stage built,” Friesen added. “So if the weather is not cooperating, people can go under the pavilion, but if it is dry, you can enjoy the outdoors.”
Proceeds from Down By the River events and also the mud volleyball tournament during National Tom Sawyer Days (which is played in the same area) are donated by the Y’s Men for YMCA projects, Friesen explained.
This includes all the Down by the River parties with the exception of the July one, which is an annual benefit for the Jason Harvey Memorial, Steinman explained. The Harvey Memorial also is used for children’s activities, such as the fishing derby that it financed last summer.
Friesen listed some previous projects the Y’s Men have financed with the proceeds from their fund-raisers. “In the past they purchased everything from helping us pave our driveways to purchasing computers for us to the X-Biking Room. ...Everything they do is to benefit the membership.
“We have over 7,000 members at the Y,” Friesen reported, “and it is thanks to groups like the Y’s Men club and programs like the Riedel Foundation that have helped us to grow, and the additions we have added, thanks to the community - the additions are strictly from donations.”
Recalling how the Y’s Men have helped, Steinman explained that, “the first year we helped them build a concrete walkway from the church (Park United Methodist) to the Y, and the second year they asked us to help with the ‘spinning room,’” which has exercise bikes.
“Most of the time the Y will come to us (the Y’s Men) and present a couple of ideas that are not budgeted,” Steinman said. “We take that and decide on what we want to put our money for. We try to go with something we don’t feel should be in the regular budget.”
Steinman expressed appreciation for the Down By the River’s major sponsors: Tom Boland Ford,  Prestige Realty, Fiddlestiks Food & Spirits, Quality Inn & Suites, Dr. Jones Family Dentistry and Kerley’s Pub.