In downtown Aurora, the first Thursday of the month was synonymous with DAAM from November 5, 2009 until December 7, 2017. For eight years, DAAM, which stood for Downtown Aurora Arts Mixer, stood strong as an easy way to get to know others who cared about the downtown art scene.
DAAM met at various downtown restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. It introduced participants to hidden treasures such as the beer garden at Miss Lee’s Lounge, and to each other. Musicians, artists, poets, patrons of the arts, were given the opportunity to connect.
I started DAAM for that very reason. I wanted to get the community together. It was a way to get involved and be involved.
As beneficial as social media is, the best way to find out about things is still word-of-mouth, and DAAM allowed those who care about downtown to stay informed and in touch. Not only did it connect many of us, but it inspired and helped grow many ideas. Some great things came out of DAAM.
Out of DAAM came Alley Art Festival.
At one of the early DAAM meetings, I brought pieces of paper and asked those in attendance to write down what they wanted to see downtown. One of the ideas was an art festival on Water Street Mall. It was so simple and so perfect. It had to happen. I set out and hand-picked a handful of artists and friends to help me to create and organize a downtown arts festival. This year, we held the 11th Alley Art Festival on the last Saturday of August.
DAAM has been on hiatus for quite some time. When the last DAAM was held in 2017, there was a solid network of downtown friends and things were happening. It was a bustling year. New businesses opened such as Do or Dye Designs and Endiro Coffee. We held the first Food Truck Festival on Benton Street. First Fridays had grown to more than 20 venues. We celebrated the anniversary of Wayne’s World, and we were hosts to 18 concerts at the Millennium Plaza gazebo on Stolp Avenue.
It seemed as though DAAM had served a purpose. Aurora had a new updated downtown master plan and a new executive director of Aurora Public Art. We were in a good place.
Fast forward to 2021, and the pandemic has slowed down some of the huge strides that downtown has made, but there is still a lot to celebrate, and being away from others for some time has reminded me of the importance of connection.
After some encouragement, I’m bringing DAAM back as DAM (Downtown Aurora Meetup).
The goal of DAM will be to meet up at downtown spots and give them a boost. It might be a place of business or a public space. There will be no regular dates, no social media invites, rarely more than a week’s notice, and likely no reminders (so add this to your calendar). It’ll be a flash mob of sorts. We’ll still have downtown announcements about an hour in. Friends can come and go as they please.
Please join me at the first DAM at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28 at French 75 Gallery and Lounge, 56 E. Galena Boulevard.
French 75 features an amazing cocktail bar, and has a Spirit of the Dead cocktail for Sugar Skull City that I’m dying for everyone to try.
If you have ideas of where to meet up next downtown, let me know. Friends are welcome. Vaccinations are preferred for those attending.
Marissa Amoni is the manager of Aurora Downtown, a group of business and property owners in Special Service Area One. Visit Sugar Skull City through Nov. 7. Find out more about Aurora Downtown’s efforts at auroradowntown.org.