Bad weather can ruin even the most highly-anticipated events. But on Thursday night, the people of Holland weren't willing to let a little rain keep them from enjoying one of the city's favorite summer traditions.
"We're celebrating the end of the Street Performers with the City of Holland, but also we've been finishing the last three years with a block party, just giving back to the community. It's free food, free drinks, free prizes. It's a lot of fun," said Daniel Quintanilla who serves as the director of talent programs at Gentex.
Gentex is an automotive supplier that sponsors the Summer Street Performers Series. This year Gentex hosted a fireworks show after the block party to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary.
Quintanilla said he was happy, but not surprised, that people came out to enjoy the block party, even despite the rain.
"There's always a little bit of nerve when you put on a big party or something like this for the community, but we know that people really enjoy doing this. We've had great turnouts every year. I mean, there's nothing like free food and free drinks for people. People like that," he said.
"The rain hasn't dampened spirits at all. People are happy. So many people out there having fun. It just makes us feel great about being part of this community."
Amongst the people enjoying the festivities was Daniel Dykstra.
"I mean, at first, [the rain] gave me a little bit of pause, and then I found this nice umbrella here, and I was like, you know what? It's not raining that hard. I can I can deal with it for a free hot dog," he said with a smile.
Dykstra is a senior at Hope College who's originally from Grand Rapids. He says he's enjoyed the Street Performer Series during his time in Holland.
"I've attended them every now and again after work. You know, it's always good to unwind. It's always nice to see families out and about," he said.
"What keeps me coming out is mostly that it's different every time. There's not one singular performance to see again and again. It's not like watching your favorite movie again and again. There's always a different performance or different performer or different kinds of music or different people day-to-day."
This year was the 20th anniversary for the Summer Street Performers Series.