WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — From the Susquehanna River, you can see the setup taking place for an event planning to use it as its backdrop
Rockin' the River 2021, a free live concert series takes, place along the river at the Millennium Circle in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
"We're back. We can't wait. It's going to be a great event. We want everybody to come down. We've got great entertainment. We're going to have food, adult beverages, and it's great getting to have a lot of people together, hanging out, enjoying music, conversing, just having a great time," said Ted Wampole, head of Visit Luzerne County.
This event started in 2019, got creative in 2020 with a traveling concert, and is now back home along the river.
"You don't realize how much you miss this, how much you miss this part of it, how much you miss all of it. It could be sometimes the aggravation or the frustration with the satisfaction of seeing all this come together because of a year and a half of sitting around and not doing anything. You have no idea how important this is in your life, and how is it important for the community," said John Maday, head of the Riverfront Parks Committee.
Sheriff's deputies are on duty on land and in the water as an extra safety precaution for the event.
"Full force to make sure that everything is OK, that we don't have anybody going into the river that shouldn't go in the river, that everybody behaves, to help people out there. It's a great bunch. They support this thing 100 percent but we're good like we're saying, it's always a well-behaved group," Walpole said.
There are plenty of sanitizing stations around too as a COVID-19 precaution.
"It's obviously there, but this is where we're reaching the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Well, this is part of that light. This light tonight that will shine on the river, and that's why this is so exciting," Maday added. "we are proud and pleased to be part of this."
This event goes until 9 p.m. More concerts are planned for the next two Fridays.