Newark Nonprofit Hopes Bar Crawl Can Boost Nightlife Economy

NEWARK, NJ — The nonprofit behind the popular Lincoln Park Music Festival will kick off its first live event since 2019: a “House Music Bar Crawl.”

According to the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District (LPCCD), the event will hopefully help jumpstart the local nightlife economy in Newark amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It will take place Saturday, July 17 from 5 to 10 p.m. The bar crawl route with venue info will be announced the day before the event, organizers said. Learn more or purchase tickets here.

Organizers wrote:

“Launched in 2019, the Lincoln Park Music Festival (LPMF) House Music Bar Crawl was originally designed to create economic impact in downtown Newark on a Summer weekend, when the corporate community is generally out of town. This year, Lincoln Park Music Festival powered event will light up the night with the pulsating rhythms of House Music and crawlers “dancing in the streets” while they #CASHMOB local bar and lounges creating economic impact as the City of Newark, local bars, restaurants and lounges re-open and re-emerge post-COVID.”

Executive director Anthony Smith said the bar crawl is aligned with the LPCCD's mission of leveraging the arts, music and culture – in this case, soulful house music – to lift the spirts of the community, combat the social isolation of the past 14 months and drive revenue to local eateries and bars, most of which are small businesses that employ local residents.

The Lincoln Park Music Festival “House Music Bar Crawl” will serve the official kickoff to the organization’s festival season and upcoming community engagement initiatives, which include a truncated version of its annual outdoor music festival at a location to be announced later, as well as community clean up events, the Lincoln Park Gallery Without Walls public art project, the Lincoln Park Sustainable Living Community wellness series, the Jazzy Soul Series and other virtual programming, and season two of the nonprofit’s podcast.

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