Blogs / Gone Fishing / Summer 2012 / Back Alley Parties

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Gone Fishing

Life on and off the waters of the Wood River Valley

Back Alley Parties

Hailey offers good music for good causes

In case you didn’t know it, Hailey, Idaho, (not to be confused with the comet) is one of the coolest towns in the country. And if you don’t believe it, then you’ve obviously never been to a Back Alley Party.

Held on Wednesday nights in the summer for the last nine years now, Back Alley Parties have helped raised thousands of dollars for local non-profits like The Hunger Coalition, the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley, The Senior Connection and the The Advocates - for Survivors of Domestic Violence.

The format for each week’s party is pretty much the same: The Wicked Spud is the site for the free event, which offers live music (an opening act followed by a headliner) starting at 6pm while keg beer (generously donated by even host Figgleaf Productions) and raffle tickets are sold to help support that night’s non-profit. As their motto goes: “Good Music for a Good Cause.”

The Back Alley Parties have become so popular, according to Dana Dugan of Figgleaf Productions who has long helped run the event, that they now have to pick names out of a hat to decide which non-profits get included.

Along with the help of Hayden Beverage and Heidi Albrecht of HeidiGlyph, who designs the posters, Dana is proud that the Back Alley Parties aren’t just helping local non-profits, they’re helping make a stronger community, too. The parties are almost always packed with families and folks of all ages. It’s also been the venue where many local bands first got their start.

"This is just a great community party,” Dana said with a big smile.

And then, of course, there’s the cool factor. Anyone driving down Hailey’s Main Street on a Wednesday evening in the summer can’t help but notice the big, happy crowds, the oodles of bikes parked about or the fun, festive music echoing off Carbonate Mountain.

You can see everyone from the über cool like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher  (who’d been known to stop by) to tourists from across the country to the countless cool locals who come out of the woodwork each week to support the party.

Yes, it’s true, Hailey, Idaho, is one of the coolest towns in the country and if you don’t believe it, try stopping by a Back Alley Party some Wednesday to have a beer, help out a charity, tap your feet and see for yourself.