Hollywood is planning to show off its new downtown reboot with Boots on the Boulevard, a country-music block party, on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The free event will take place on Hollywood Boulevard between 19th and 20th avenues, the centerpiece of a nearly 18-month reconstruction project on the city’s main business thoroughfare, which is lined with downtown’s most popular restaurants and bars.
Boots on the Boulevard is a celebration of the completion of the project and a bid to welcome back locals who grew tired of dancing around construction barriers and road closures, says Mark Rowe, owner of Mickey Byrne’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, who helped city commissioners organize Boots on the Boulevard.
“It was a tough year for everyone downtown. It was a hard birth, a painful birth, but you still love the child. It looks great, and it’s great that now people can get to us,” Rowe says.
Formally known as the Hollywood Boulevard Streetscapes Project, the thoroughfare has been remodeled from 21st Avenue to Young Circle, with the main feature a reorientation of street parking to create wider, decorative sidewalks and expanded outdoor cafe seating. The center median with its iconic tree canopy has been retained.
The project began in May 2023, and the city conducted a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 19. Rowe says the project is complete, save for a few incidental “punch list” items.
Taking place from 2 to 6 p.m., a portion of the street will be closed for Boots on the Boulevard, which will include food trucks and booths hosted by area restaurants and bars, along with live music, line dancing, vendors, a costume contest and family-friendly entertainment.
The headliners will be Shaw Davis & The Black Ties, led by the fiery young blues-rock guitarist, and Lucian White and The White Rabbit, who have “a good repertoire of country music,” Rowe says.
A native of Roscommon, in the middle of Ireland, Rowe is a ’90s alt-rock guy who leans more toward Oasis than “Friends in Low Places,” but he thinks country music was a necessary addition to the city’s menu of other major events, such as the Hollyweird Halloween Festival, Mardi Gras and its St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
“It’s something different, and there’s a lot of resurgence of country music with young people these days,” he says.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Boots on the Boulevard
WHEN: 2-6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8
WHERE: Downtown Hollywood, along Hollywood Boulevard, between 19th and 20th avenues
COST: Free admission
INFORMATION: BootsOnTheBoulevard.com
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and X @BenCrandell.