Music festival brings attention to local Wisconsin businesses

HAYWARD, Wis. (Northern News Now) — Small businesses in one Wisconsin town saw some big crowds thanks to a new music festival.

Friday, hundreds of people made their way to Downtown Hayward to visit the first-ever Summer Music Jam Festival.

“We thought you know what, let’s do some music, open up the street, and have a Summer Jam,” said James Netz, the owner of James Netz Photography.

Also serving as the President of Hayward’s Business Improvement District, Netz dreamt up the idea of the festival in hopes of getting more people to visit Downtown.

Netz said his team saw a good opening for the event over the 4th of July weekend, as there were no events planned on Friday.

“Our mission statement is to market out all our small businesses that we have in the district,” Netz said.

The most recent winter tourism season in Hayward was particularly slow due to the lack of snow cancelling big events like the American Birkebeiner.

Netz said the Summer Jam Music Festival offered local businesses, like Tremblay, the opportunity to see more foot traffic during the summer tourism season.

“We’re busier than we normally would be,” said Chelsea Erickson, the manager of Tremblays.

Although Tremblays, a candy shop in Hayward, had steady business over the winter season, Erickson said getting more customers inside never hurts.

“We hope people come to Hayward,” Erikson said. “They enjoy the music fest and all the great shops and they come to get some candy.”

The Summer Jam Music Festival was free to the public.

The event was sponsored by local businesses and organizations in the area like Lynns Custom Meats and Catering and Haywards Lions Club.

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