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ELKHART — Fans and spectators at the Elkhart Public Library downtown branch watched on a big screen Monday as the U.S. Men’s national soccer team collapsed against Belgium 4-1.
Trevor Wendzonka, chief marketing officer at the Elkhart Public Library, said the library originally planned an outdoor curbside concert on Friday evening with Paul Erdman, but the concert had to be moved inside due to the rain.
“Some of the things that we had planned to be part of downtown Elkhart’s America 250 celebration we kind of had to put on hold,” Wendzonka said. “And so that’s why we thought, ‘Well, we’ve got some things ready. Let’s pull together another type of community event.’ We’ve not really done a whole lot with sports, with soccer, in the past, but we thought that this would be a great way to just kind of bring some people together, have some fun on a Monday night, watch Team USA and hopefully, we’ll see a win here.”
The event featured special surprises before the game including a local musician, Jim Catalano, who played a rope drum with a colonial sound. The library also borrowed a large American flag from Federated Media that they draped over the side of the downtown branch library building before the game.
The library ran with the ideas to help bring more memories to people, Wendzonka said.
“It’s one of those special circumstances,” Wendzonka said. “This is a time, this World Cup, the talent that’s on this team is bringing everybody together and I just think that’s a special moment for all communities. And just to be a little piece of that, I think is just fun for us. It’s fun for our staff that’s here tonight, and we’re just having a good time with it.”
Lawrence Culbreath, who attended the watch party, said he enjoyed the atmosphere of the party and it was not too crowded. He used to live in the area, but now he lives in Alabama and he was visiting family in the city when he heard about the watch party, he said. He heard about the watch party through Facebook, he said.
Miguel Ramirez, a resident who attended the watch party, said his wife saw the big screen outside the library’s downtown branch on her way home. The couple live on Sherman Street and were going to watch the game at home, but they decided to instead walk to the library and watch the game there.
“It’s the World Cup and I go for the USA,” Ramirez said. “All my family played at Elkhart Central High School, so all my boys is why I love soccer.”
Another World Cup watch party took place at Westwind Brewery Co., 911 Plum St., on Monday evening.
Continue reading...
Trevor Wendzonka, chief marketing officer at the Elkhart Public Library, said the library originally planned an outdoor curbside concert on Friday evening with Paul Erdman, but the concert had to be moved inside due to the rain.
“Some of the things that we had planned to be part of downtown Elkhart’s America 250 celebration we kind of had to put on hold,” Wendzonka said. “And so that’s why we thought, ‘Well, we’ve got some things ready. Let’s pull together another type of community event.’ We’ve not really done a whole lot with sports, with soccer, in the past, but we thought that this would be a great way to just kind of bring some people together, have some fun on a Monday night, watch Team USA and hopefully, we’ll see a win here.”
The event featured special surprises before the game including a local musician, Jim Catalano, who played a rope drum with a colonial sound. The library also borrowed a large American flag from Federated Media that they draped over the side of the downtown branch library building before the game.
The library ran with the ideas to help bring more memories to people, Wendzonka said.
“It’s one of those special circumstances,” Wendzonka said. “This is a time, this World Cup, the talent that’s on this team is bringing everybody together and I just think that’s a special moment for all communities. And just to be a little piece of that, I think is just fun for us. It’s fun for our staff that’s here tonight, and we’re just having a good time with it.”
Lawrence Culbreath, who attended the watch party, said he enjoyed the atmosphere of the party and it was not too crowded. He used to live in the area, but now he lives in Alabama and he was visiting family in the city when he heard about the watch party, he said. He heard about the watch party through Facebook, he said.
Miguel Ramirez, a resident who attended the watch party, said his wife saw the big screen outside the library’s downtown branch on her way home. The couple live on Sherman Street and were going to watch the game at home, but they decided to instead walk to the library and watch the game there.
“It’s the World Cup and I go for the USA,” Ramirez said. “All my family played at Elkhart Central High School, so all my boys is why I love soccer.”
Another World Cup watch party took place at Westwind Brewery Co., 911 Plum St., on Monday evening.
Continue reading...
