Coming over the bridge into downtown Niles this weekend, sounds of jazz emanated down the river, echoed by gleeful screams of youngsters on carnival rides and rounds of applause from audience members enjoying Niles’ annual music festival in Riverfront Park.

The music festival has long marked the start of summer in Niles, a celebration of warmer days and snazzy tunes. Lucky for Niles and Dowagiac residents, the song and dance do not end when the festival packs up this weekend.

Last summer, Niles resident Caryn Adler revived the city of Four Flags’ longstanding weekly concerts in the park. Guests saw free entertainment in the Riverfront Pavilion each week, and they will have the opportunity to do so again this year. With the help of community sponsors, guests can enjoy live music Thursday evenings beginning this week.

Dowagiac also announced its summer concert will return this Thursday, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. at the bricked parkway outside James E. Snow Building at Main and Front streets in Dowagiac. The concert series lasts for 10 weeks.

Guests attending either concert each week are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs, kick back and enjoy the show.

While the free entertainment is an amenity itself, these weekly concerts are hugely valuable for Dowagiac and Niles because they draw folks to town who may otherwise not make it this way often. Our hope is that as concertgoers await performers, they will stroll downtown, pop in to our shops and have a bite to eat.

We hope our downtown business owners in both communities will take advantage of the extra traffic going past their businesses, stay open a bit later and encourage folks to visit their business with weekly specials.

We cannot wait to see you all in Niles and Dowagiac Thursday nights, and hear the music pumping energy through our towns.

Opinions expressed are those of general manager Ambrosia Neldon, managing editor Sarah Culton and sports editor Scott Novak.