We LOVE events taking place in Downtown Lawrence, and we especially love events that take place in our block.
This year, the Kansas Relays is trying something new: they're bringing three track and field events to downtown Lawrence!
April 20:
The elite men's shot put will be on 8th Street between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The street will close at 6 a.m. to allow for set up of a shot put area. The competition starts at 6 p.m. and will end around 8 p.m. The street will reopen at 11 p.m.
We love that they chose our block for the shot put. We've already made all kinds of jokes about where we'll be putting our own shots that night.
Our friends from Richard's Music next door will also be playing a concert later that night, and beer will be available for sale also.
April 21:
The elite men's long jump will take place on the other side of 8th Street, between Massachusetts and Vermont.The street will close at 11 a.m., the competition starts at 6 p.m., and will end around 8 p.m. Again, the street should be open by 11 p.m.
Also that day, the Kansas Relays Street Mile will start in the 700 block of New Hampshire at 5:30 p.m. and finish in the 700 block of Vermont.
This event will impact several areas of Downtown Lawrence. The route wll go down New Hampshire, turn right onto 11th St., cross Massachusetts, and turn right on to Vermont. The intersections will temporarily be closed until all the runners pass through. The organizers anticipate the event should be completed by 5:45 p.m., and all streets will be reopened at 6:15 p.m.
We're super excited about these unique events being held downtown. The Kansas Relays take place every year, but many people in Lawrence never have a reason to be involved or even know it's going on. Bringing some of the events downtown is a great way to involve the whole community, and it gives us all something different to do for an evening!
We hope you'll all come out and help support these great events!
We got a nice mention in a KUSports.com column about the event by Tom Keegan today. Check it out!
