Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — The violence in Charlottesville earlier this month prompted safety concerns from historic reenactors and the cancellation of the annual Civil War Weekend in Manassas, but Historic Manassas has a Plan B.
The Civil War Weekend normally attracts a lot of foot traffic to downtown Manassas, so the Executive Director of Historic Manassas Debbie Haight said some of the area’s business owners are concerned that they won’t see as much business because of the cancellation.
To make sure people still visit downtown Manassas, an impromptu first Friday event will be held Friday night to help spur business
On those nights, the streets in the historic area close down, and the stores stay open later, so they are doing that tonight to spur business.
“So we’re starting a big push at this moment to get the word out. We’re here. We welcome you,” Haight said.
She added it will be a celebration of the end of summer and hopes people will visit historic downtown and enjoy all it has to offer.
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