Dayton adds new festival, and it is the funkiest one yet

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

The city of Dayton has added a new event to its summer festival lineup, and it is the funkiest one yet.

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The Dayton Funk Festival, a free event that follows in the tradition of Dayton's  jazz, blues, and reggae festivals,  is planned for 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11, at Levitt Pavilion at Dave Hall Plaza, 134 S. Main St. in downtown Dayton.

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"We are the funk capital of the world, and we want to celebrate that," said Nick Terbay of the Dayton recreation and Youth Services Department and an event organizer.

The reggae festival is set for Sunday, Sept. 1

The new funk festival replaces a rock festival, which did not take off the way many hoped, Terbay said.

The music lineup for the funk festival is as follows:

1:15 p.m. — The Johnson Treatment
3 p.m. — The LYD Band
4:30 p.m. — Kick-N-Flava
6 p.m.  —  Top Secret Band
7:30 p.m. — The Deron Bell Band

Funk music put Dayton on the map as the Land of the Funk in the 1970s and '80s thanks to groups Including the Ohio Players, Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame, Zapp, Faze-O, Heatwave, Sun, Slave and Lakeside.

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Terbay said festival-goers are asked not to bring their own drinks or food items because those items will be sold by vendors.

Food vendors include Bourbon Street Cafe and Grill,  The Sweet Retreat ice cream; Sweet P's Hand Crafted Ice Pops; and Sprouting Dreams, a vegan tent.

“We have been getting so many good reviews of everything they offer,” Terbay said of Sprouting Dreams.

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WANT TO GO?

What: The Dayton Funk Festival,

When: 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Sunday, Aug. 11

Where: Levitt Pavilion at Dave Hall Plaza, 134 S. Main St. in downtown Dayton

Cost: Admission is free

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