Love Local Courtyard Concerts kicks off during 2nd night of Greensburg Restaurant Week

About 40 people gathered Tuesday in the courtyard of The Palace Theatre, ready to kick off a downtown concert and dinner series.

Love Local Courtyard Concerts, hosted by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, is scheduled to run through Saturday, bringing together local bands and a Restaurant Week participating eatery. Restaurant Week, which started Monday, features 20 local restaurants and runs through Sunday.

On Tuesday, The Bricks and David Distefano took the stage, and food provided by Major Stokes was served in take-out containers.

“We love the music here … This year it’s been a challenge for them, but they have done a fabulous job,” said Diane Hartland, 72, of Southwest Greensburg. “So this came up and one of our favorite groups, The Bricks, are playing tonight. Having food from Major Stokes and hearing The Bricks was a great incentive to come out and enjoy.”

The event comes days after the Thank Goodness It’s Summer concert series ended, typically held in the courtyard, but moved to the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center to provide social distancing. Westmoreland Cultural Trust officials decided to hold the Love Local Courtyard Concerts event at the Palace in order to highlight Greensburg restaurants, said Peg Colosimo, a 15-year Trust volunteer.

Two different bands will play each night, and 724 Podcast will interview band members as part of the night’s events. To provide for social distancing, attendance was topped at 40 people. Once seated at their tables, people were permitted to remove their face masks.

“We can think moving forward that just doing this in a very small capacity, it’s going to enable us to keep going and keep this Palace going and be involved with the arts,” Colosimo said about the importance of hosting the event.

The Trust worked with the Greensburg Community Development Corp., which organizes Restaurant Week, to plan the series, which is mostly sold out.

The schedule for the rest of the week includes:

• Aug. 26: Music by Aubrey Burchell and Louie Castle & The Rooks, dinner by J.Corks
• Aug. 27: Music by Nick Barilla and Willow Hill, dinner by Caffe Barista
• Aug. 28: Music by Ryan Woods of Habatat and Derek Woods, dinner by Pit Take BBQ
• Aug. 29: Music by Pack and Byron Nash, dinner by The Olde Spitfire Grille.

Several people attending the event appreciated being able to enjoy a meal while listening to live music. Cindy and Tim Florian of Murrysville were enjoying a date night Tuesday.

“We were just talking about how long it’s been since we were actually at a dining facility that we felt safe outside,” Tim Florian said. “And something neat like this where you can hear a little bit of music.”