On August 26, the Farmville Downtown Partnership and The Yeatman Group hosted Rock the Block, a community event that aims to bring both college students and the Farmville community together. However, students and locals did not expect Oliver Anthony, legally named Christopher Lunsford, a Billboard-breaking musician, to make an appearance Saturday afternoon.
Lunsford was immediately surrounded by locals and college students who flocked to Main Street to get photos with him. A native of America’s oldest two-college town, Lunsford referenced the impact the colleges have locally.
Lunsford said, “the colleges have really helped build the community here, but Farmville has always had a tight community. It’s nice seeing downtown like this.”
Downtown was buzzing with the 100 block of Main Street cordoned off from 6-10 p.m. During the event, people took to Main Street as bands performed on the Crute Stage.
Lunsford was not one of the scheduled performers for the evening, despite his song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” going viral and spending two weeks as the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Even without his announced presence at the event, word spread quickly, and Main Street was flooded with foot traffic.
Rock the Block served as the first college integrated event that the Farmville Downtown Partnership, a 5013c non-profit, has hosted since the start of the Fall 2023 semester.
Nancy Alexander, Executive Director of the Downtown Farmville Partnership said, “we were looking for a fundraiser and a way to bring the community together and share what downtown has to offer.”
As the first Rock the Block held since 2017, vendors and businesses were eager to join. This included Margie Foster, who runs a flower farm on the outskirts of Farmville.
Foster said, “We've been mostly at farmers markets, but we’re trying to put our name out a little bit by doing some of these other events.”
Because summer is slow for a lot of businesses without a storefront, community events like Rock the Block become increasingly important, especially in the fall season when students return to campus.
Kloie Rogers, the owner of Rags to Tags, a small business specializing in upcycled clothing can often be found at these events because, “it's all online,” Rogers said. “Doing these events is how I make my money. It’s honestly growing my business so much.”
Although there were no statistics on the exact revenue generated from the event, retailers still relayed what a wonderful evening it was, both from the sales and the customer aspect.
“It introduced a lot of people to what they have to offer… So hopefully it will generate returned customers,” Alexander said.
The Farmville Downtown Partnership also recognized how large of an impact having rising star Lunsford at the event was.
“Just having a nationally recognized star certainly backs up everything we’re doing, and certainly adds value to the whole event,” Alexander said.
Although Lunsford is nationally recognized, he has not signed with any record labels and does not plan to move from his place in Farmville.
“This is a unique place because we’re not far from Richmond and other big cities, but this still has that authentic small town feel Virginia is known for,” Lunsford said.
