WESTBROOK – If the key to improving Westbrook’s downtown is foot traffic, local business and a collection of local bands may have the answer.

As a complement to the popular free summer concert series at Riverbank Park, a new initiative, Bands on the Boardwalk, has started up just down the street in Saccarappa Park. The new series runs for eight weeks, concluding Aug. 30. Each week features a concert from a local band.

“This park has been empty for some time now,” said James Tranchemontagne, owner of the Frog and Turtle restaurant on Bridge Street, and one of the series’ promoters. “It was time to remind people of how nice it is and that it is part of the heart of the downtown.”

The series, which is free, opened on July 12 with the band Velourasaurus playing to a crowd of about 100 people. Dr. Warren Lain, president of the Westbrook Chamber of Commerce and another series promoter, said the point is not to make money off the shows, but to get people to come see more of what the downtown area has to offer, especially along the boardwalk area.

“This looked like it was serendipitous to use this park that was underutilized,” he said.

Lain said the series couldn’t have happened without the financial support of local businesses. While he declined to say how much money the series costs, he said 10-12 local businesses supported the series. Idexx Laboratories was one of the lead sponsors, but other companies that are offering support include Saco & Biddeford Savings, Disability RMS, Emerald Property Management, Basement Professional, Equinox, CCB Inc, Blue Rock, Cintas Corp.,Westbrook River Park HVAC and Knight Property Service.

Local restaurants have gotten involved, too, with Portland Pie as lead sponsor and also the Dancing Elephant, the Blue Burrito, Catbird Creamery, the Frog and Turtle and the Skybox.

“To have that much support was fantastic,” he said.

Lain said the hope behind the series is to duplicate the well-known annual summer concert series in Riverbank Park, which also offers free shows in part to drive interest in Westbrook’s downtown. Those shows, Lain noted, take place on Wednesdays, and the Bands on the Boardwalk series is deliberately scheduled for Thursdays, so it won’t compete.

The band Velourasaurus plays on July 12 at the first concert of Bands on the Boardwalk, a free concert series in Saccarappa Park every Thursday from 5-7:30 p.m. The new series is sponsored by local businesses, and is geared toward encouraging people to explore Westbrook’s downtown more. Courtesy photo