By JP Graham | Reporter
Pinewood Coffee Bar is hosting its first annual block party and music festival Friday afternoon from 2 to 9:45 p.m., an event open to the public and conveniently scheduled for the last day of the spring semester.
Located at 2223 Austin Avenue, the block party will include live music, food trucks, face painting, drinks and games that come with the purchase of a ticket. General admission is $5 and includes entrance to the event, including live music. VIP tickets are $15 dollars, which additionally includes two free coffee drinks and other beverages.
Cassie Spivey, general manger of Pinewood Coffee Bar, said Pinewood hosted a block party when they first opened in 2015, and this event intends to expand on that tradition, giving musicians that have played at Pinewood in the past a platform to perform.
“After that, we decided to make it at least an annual thing, if not multiple times a year, and this time we decided to take it a step further,” Spivey said. “We said ‘Hey, why not bring back all the awesome musicians we’ve had play at Pinewood, and turn it into a music festival as well as a block party?’”
Spivey said the planning process began a couple months ago, and that collaboration between co-owner Dylan Washington and musician Thomas Csorba got the ball rolling.
“Our co-owner Dylan Washington has a great brain for this kind of stuff,” Spivey said. “He and Thomas Csorba, who’s actually one of the musicians playing on Friday, were talking it over … Things just started rolling and ideas kept coming.”
Those in attendance will hear music from Thomas Csorba, The Irons, Patric Johnson, The Fossil Lickers, Andrew James and Jaimee Harris, along with a “surprise” performance from Brody Price.
Spivey said new, local food truck “Hellberg Barbecue” will make their debut at the event Friday.
Face painting will be done by Laura Lee, the wife of co-owner Dylan Washington, and her friend Quinn Pierson. Pierson said the entire event is interactive, and face painting offers another way for guests to fully enjoy the block party.
“We’re really excited about the element of creativity it’s going to bring,” Pierson said. “We wanted something that would be fun for everyone, so we’re really hoping for a ‘culture’ of face painting, if that makes sense.”
Pierson said she wants attendees to know that face painting isn’t just for kids.
“Don’t let it just be a kid’s thing, but really have fun with it.”
Spivey said the choice of April 27 as the date for the event was planned to accommodate those who currently live in Waco but may not be spending their summer here.
“Summer weeds out a lot of people, so we wanted people who love Waco and support Waco to be a part of it before school got out and summer activities started happening,” Spivey said. “We really wanted to hit it right in that sweet spot, when things are kind of starting to wind down for people.”
Spivey said the event will not only represent Pinewood, but also Waco as a community.
“This is going to be a day where you can truly feel Waco, and that’s one thing I personally love about Pinewood,” Spivey said. “Pinewood is a very Waco, community-based company that really wants to support locals, and that also includes people that are only local for a couple of years.”
Tickets can be purchased at the door on Friday or on the Pinewood Roasters Event page. Pinewood will not be open for regular service on Friday due to the event.
