This year will be the 10th anniversary of the Downtown at Sundown music festival, so organizers are looking to celebrate in a big way. 

“We’re working on some special additions to make this year’s series extra memorable for the Brookings community,” said Ainsley Bennett, Brookings Chamber of Commerce event coordinator. 

Bennett and her team are currently in the early stages of planning for this year’s festival. Their focus right now is identifying areas for improvement to enhance the event’s logistics and overall experience. More of the intensive planning will take place in June. 

Intern applications are open now and can be found on the Downtown at Sundown website and are open for students looking for hands-on, event-focused experience. The intern team typically consists of around five people, but the number may vary based on event needs.

Downtown at Sundown saw a slight decrease in attendance numbers last summer.

Theme nights saw around 2,000 attendees, but the attendance number decreased by 22% from last year. The chamber attributes this to two things: the subpar weather forecasts for a few of the nights as well as changes to the methods for counting attendance.

Organizers are exploring the use of artificial intelligence technology to further reduce human error and achieve consistent, reliable counts. They are also looking for ways to refine their processes and ensure the best possible event experience for everyone involved is in the works.

“Despite the slight decrease, we’re proud to have welcomed over 15,000 attendees last year,” Bennett said. “Our focus remains on creating an engaging and enjoyable experience for attendees while continuously improving our insight from previous seasons.”

This was the ninth year the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce has done this event and this year with a new event coordinator. Ainsley Bennett, now the event coordinator for the Brookings Chamber of Commerce, first started with the chamber in March 2023 as their business operations intern.

“Last year was my first Downtown at Sundown as a member of the event day intern team, and this year I joined the Chamber full-time in May 2024 as the event coordinator and as the lead staff of this year’s series,” said Bennett.

Her and her team are currently in the early stages of planning for this year’s Downtown at Sundown.

SDSU and high school students as well as dedicated chamber staff and event day interns help make this all come together. They assist with the setup, teardown, and various operational tasks. On the coordinator side of it, Bennett handles most of the planning process that leads up to event days and includes coordinating with sponsors, vendors, and bands.

“I’m grateful to have SDSU and high school students as part of our event day intern team, along with the support of my chamber colleagues,” said Bennett.

Community involvement also plays a role at Downtown at Sundown. The event was originally created because the Brookings community recognized the need for a festival that would bring together residents and visitors alike, Bennett said. Now, local businesses and organizations participate as sponsors, vendors, and even volunteers.

Downtown at Sundown saw a slight decrease in attendance numbers last summer but the festival sold out of vendor space last year, where they welcomed 18 new vendors, as well as 20 returning ones. The vendor application for this year’s event will be available soon and they’re looking for another great lineup.

“We’ve seen strong interest in past years and hope to continue that momentum. Brookings has an amazing business community, and we always appreciate their involvement,” said Bennett.

Along with vendors, they are also working on lining up bands for this year’s event. They are in the process of reviewing over 25 bands that have been recommended or expressed interest in being part of the series. The announcement of the bands will be on their social media platforms as they get closer to the series.

This was the second year the chamber introduced theme nights for Downtown at Sundown. The themes included: new resident welcome night, multicultural night, and SDSU night. Bobcat night was a new theme that was added in hopes of bringing in more community members. They are planning on the same theme nights as last year.

“We like to collaborate with different partners involved in each theme night to determine what theme attractions will be, and so far we’ve seen fantastic community engagement around these themed events,” said Bennett.

In regard to theme nights, SDSU night welcomed the most attendees, with 3,365. Involvement with the University and Marketing Communications office, President Barry Dunn’s office and SDSU athletics helped bring a variety of SDSU related booths and campus organizations, according to Bennett. 

SDSU night featured SDSU ice cream, temporary tattoos and SDSU swag from athletics along with the SDSU Foundation and other student groups.

Continuing to expand partnerships with SDSU and the Brookings School District, along with building on current themes to reach even more corners of the community is a goal for the Brookings Chamber of Commerce as each level of participation helps make the event a true community-centered celebration, reflecting the spirit and inclusivity that Brookings stands for.

“We welcome community members and businesses to get involved, whether by attending, volunteering, sponsoring, or becoming a vendor,” Bennett said. 

The dates for this year’s Downtown at Sundown are being finalized. People are encouraged to follow the Chamber’s social media pages for updates on vendors, bands, and special announcements leading up to the event.