July 8

The street is his canvas

Spencer and his daughter

Thursdays in Downtown Bismarck is an eclectic mix of families and artistry.  Kids are encouraged to express their creativity whether it is with chalk on a normally busy street now closed, or with a hula hoop overhead, or with a band that is more often found in an adult-only venue.

Midnight Noise Orchestra

Urban harvest is a harvest of talent and expression.  Each Thursday in the summer,  vendors set up their booths of clothing and products that you will not find in the local Walmart or shopping mall.  A variety of food is available for lunch or later for supper.  Bands play to an appreciative crowd of youngsters, business people on break, shoppers and the band’s own faithful bunch of groupies.

It’s Bismarck’s attempt at offering a cultural mix that is normally reserved for larger cities or those cities further east in North Dakota such as Grand Forks and Fargo.  Bismarck’s hard-working homogenous German-Russian-Norwegian stock doesn’t have much time or interest in such summer time frivolity.  No, summer is for work in this part of the state.

Still, balance must be an essential part of a human’s health, as well as the health of a community’s humanity.  Work is good, but so is enjoying artistic expressions you might not otherwise see if it weren’t for the efforts of organizers such as those behind Urban harvest.

Urban Harvest