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Summer is in full swing in downtown Elizabethton. Despite a change in venue for many of the events due to damage inflicted by Hurricane Helene last September, the events have drawn a large number of people.

Among the events going strong this summer are the Concerts in the Covered Bridge Park each Saturday evening; the car show, which was moved to the Elizabethton High School parking lot due to increased traffic downtown; as well as the weekly Farmers Market, which was moved to Kiwanis Park in the west end of town.

This year’s July Fourth celebration will be moved to Citizens Bank Stadium because of the increased traffic downtown.

However, First Friday events are back in downtown Elizabethton and, thus far, have been very successful. The summer series of theme evenings, live entertainment and community activities have drawn a crowd for late evening shopping and outdoor adventure.

The Covered Bridge Jams, held each Saturday evening in Covered Bridge Park, continue to draw large crowds. Held from June through August, the weekly concert series features a variety of music ranging from country, bluegrass, blues and rock on Saturday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m.

The event, which this Saturday will feature Caron Peters, whose roots go deep here, showcases local, regional and nationally known musicians and the beauty of historic downtown Elizabethton in a beautiful park setting. The events are free to the public. There are also food trucks at each event.

Independence Day features one of the best fireworks displays in the area, along with music, the Little Miss Firecracker Pageant, inflatables and musical performances, as well as food trucks. The events begin in the afternoon and go until 9 p.m. Friday.

Although there is increased traffic in downtown due to the closure of the Broad Street Bridge, Elizabethton has managed to continue to work around the disruptions and have a successful summer of events.

The disruptions have been numerous, including a truck causing destruction to one of the cannons and flower boxes at the monument earlier this spring. Just last week, a tractor-trailer brought the traffic lights and a pole down at the intersection of E and Sycamore Street. There have been numerous incidents, but, hopefully, the Broad Street Bridge will be repaired soon and things will slowly return to normal.

However, Elizabethton has not missed a beat when it comes to summer activities because of the closed bridge.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation projects the repairs to the damage caused by Hurricane Helene should be completed by July 3, but that is too close for comfort to the usual Fourth of July activities held at Covered Bridge Park.

The weekly cruise-in has perhaps been affected most by the bridge’s closing and increased traffic downtown. The car shows have been held on Saturday evenings in the downtown blocks of East Elk Avenue for many years. This year is different. The Broad Street Bridge closure has redirected most downtown traffic away from Broad Street onto Elk Avenue. That has created such heavy traffic in the downtown area that the car club decided to move its weekly cruise-ins to the campus of Elizabethton High School until the Broad Street Bridge is reopened. Hopefully, that will be soon, as the crew repairing the bridge is working early until late each day to make the needed repairs.

When the bridge repairs are completed and the bridge is reopened to traffic, we recommend a celebration event downtown.

However, Elizabethton has continued to hold many of its weekly events — some in a different place — despite the increased traffic downtown. You can’t keep a good town down … and where there’s a will, there’s a way.