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Chandler musicians, restaurants team up for live streaming events during COVID-19 pandemic

Friday Night Live is moving to Facebook Live.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Right now all events in downtown Chandler have been canceled through May, due to the COVID-19 crisis. This includes the downtown Chandler Farmer’s Market, Yoga in the Park and the popular Friday Night Live concert series.

Now, local musicians and restaurant owners have come up with a way for you to still enjoy delicious food and live music from the comfort of your own home on Friday nights.

“These are definitely challenging times, but we have such an amazing entrepreneurial spirit,” said Mary Murphy-Bessler, executive director of the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership. She says they’ve moved the show online to keep it going.

Local bands are live streaming performances on Facebook Live from a different establishment in the downtown area every Friday night through the month of May, with no in-person audience.

“It not only supports our downtown businesses but also supports the live amazing music scene that we have here,” she said.

Local restaurants are hosting the musicians while providing online and curbside ordering.

Of the 40 restaurants in the downtown Chandler area, about 30 remain open right now.

“We’re ordering, not as heavy as we used to, because we don’t have the same foot traffic, but people know we are here,” said Peter Sciacca, co-founder of QuartHaus, a business known for its independent craft beer.

They are practicing social distancing and staying sanitized.

“Wearing gloves... we have for sale SanTanitizer, which is a sanitizer made basically from good beer,” he said. 

Business owners are getting creative to keep people coming back for more.

“Mingle + Graze… they have a quarantine special,” said Sciacca. “They have comfort food boxes as well as some bigger cheese and meat boards.”

Musicians and restaurants, teaming up to keep the money flowing, until their businesses operate as normal.

“Things are still going to go on, and we’ll be going back to normal hopefully soon,” said Murphy-Bessler. Local band Fringe Benefits will take the stage at Bourbon Jacks American Tavern at 6 pm tonight, with the audience watching from home.

For more information: https://downtownchandler.org/fridaynightlive/

To watch live: https://www.facebook.com/DCFridayNightLive/

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