By Teresa Mariani

Photo courtesy SLO Downtown Association
	Twist and Shout: Dancers have fun during the Summer 2000 Concerts in the Plaza series.

Summer marks the return of one of San Luis Obispo's nicest hometown 'secrets': the free Friday summer concert series.

Every Friday evening from June 22 to August 31, the block-long plaza in front of Mission San Luis Obispo is the scene for an open-air concert. First started as a monthly summer event in 1996, the Friday night music fiesta blossomed into a weekly thing by 1998.

2001 Concerts in the Plaza

This year the number of summer concerts is expanding from 10 to 12. The Friday Concerts in the Plaza are one of the city's most popular summer events, says Christina Bragg, Promotions Coordinator of the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association. The Downtown Association sponsors the free concerts, along with the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

"It's probably one of our number one requests - something we hear all year long: 'Have more Friday concerts!' " Bragg explains.

"The majority of our music tends to be blues, but we throw in some swing and some jazz, and this year we're going to have some salsa. We try to pick bands that are going to be enjoyed by a wide range of people."

The Summer 2001 concert lineup includes plenty of names familiar on the Central Coast club scene - set to play everything from pop to rock to jazz to Tex-Mex to Calypso.

Photo courtesy SLO Downtown Association
The arbor in Mission Plaza is the place for mingling and socializing at San Luis Obispo's free Friday concerts.

Picnic baskets, beach chairs, and soft drinks are OK to bring to the concerts. Alcohol is not. However, the Downtown Association offers beer and wine for sale in the Arbor patio in the Plaza, alongside San Luis Creek. Proceeds from the wine and beer sales help underwrite the concerts.

No alcohol is allowed outside the Plaza before, during or after the concerts, though. "We have barricades set up at either end of the Plaza, and there is no 'outside' alcohol allowed in. Any alcohol needs to be purchased there and needs to stay there," Bragg stresses.

The rule doesn't bother the concert-goers. The combination of summer weather, great music, and the tree-lined creekside plaza full of benches and lawn seems to keep everyone relaxed and happy.

Stroll into Mission Plaza any Friday night between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. for a concert, and you'll see people dancing in front of the band - young and old. You'll see the wine crowd in linen shorts and deep tans talking and mingling, and the Hawaiian shirt crowd in beach chairs on the lawns next to coolers. You'll se families with small children, and teen-agers, and college students - and some grandparents too. All of them pretty much relaxed and enjoying the summer air, the music, and the concert scene.

Photo courtesy SLO Downtown Association
	Hey Baby: The Sugar Daddy Swing Kings play the plaza during the Summer 2000 concert series.

The concerts now draw between 1,500 and 2,000 people - enough to fill the Plaza. But the atmosphere there is still definitely laid-back. The free Friday night concerts pretty much exemplify "life in the SLO lane" - as locals like to call it.

If you go:
Old Country Deli, 600 Marsh Street (Nipomo & Marsh) is a great place to pick up a hearty sandwich for a plaza picnic. Ditto for Muzio's Grocery at 870 Monterey St., just a block from Mission Plaza. Muzio's choices are a little bit more gourmet; try the sandwich on a baguette with a fresh pasta salad and a lemon bar, to go. Or try Popolo Café, 1255 Monterey Street. It's too far to walk to the plaza from Popolo, but the focaccia sandwiches and gourmet salads make for a memorable picnic.

Or try and get a table overlooking the Plaza at the Mission Grill, 1023 Chorro (Monterey & Chorro Streets, with a patio on Mission Plaza). It's a new restaurant with a kind of California Cuisine-Fresh Mex thing going on. Beware: you'll probably need reservations (805-547-5544). Another great place to take in a concert is Cisco's, 778 Higuera (in the Network Mall). Cisco's has one of the most beautiful outdoor patios in California. The brick patio is right on San Luis Creek, with plenty of tables, hanging flower baskets, trees, and a great view of Mission San Luis Obispo and Mission Plaza. It's a sandwich shop and deli. Order the Mini-Chef (a Cal Poly tradition) or sandwich; they also have daily specials worth checking out.

You can, of course, head for dinner after the concert with the rest of the crowd. It's a good idea to have reservations, or leave the Plaza before the music has ended if you don't have reservations, but still expect to get dinner downtown. Linn's at Marsh & Chorro streets (805-546-8444), Big Sky Café, 1121 Broad St. (805-545-5401) and Buona Tavola, 1037 Monterey St. (next to the Fremont Theater, 805-545-8000) all offer upscale, original dinner entrees at reasonable prices ($9 - $30 a plate). All are great post-concert spots.

Parking isn't usually much of a problem; two city parking garages are within easy walking distance of the Plaza (at Palm & Osos streets and Marsh & Chorro Streets).

For more information on dining in San Luis Obispo, Click Here.

For more information on where to stay in San Luis Obispo, Click Here.

- Writer Teresa Mariani is based in San Luis Obispo.

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