ST. ALBANS — Queen wasn’t scheduled to hit the stage for two hours, but the crowd was already lining up chairs on the curb.
Meanwhile, Kingman Fest’s organizers, Lauren Warshofsky and Shannon Smith were making sure Saturday’s event was proceeding as planned.
“So far, everything is going well. It seems like a good turnout,” Warshofsky said from the People’s Trust Company parking lot.
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Pie in the Sky finishes up a few pizza orders.
Mascots wandered around Kingman Fest to interact with children and pose for group shots.
Mascots wandered around Kingman Fest to interact with children and pose for group shots.
Visitors to the pen took their turns giving dogs treats and walking around inside the enclosure.
A little girl approaches a Cobble Hill Kennel dog.
Cobble Hill Kennel brought their pack of dogs for people to play and interact with.
At 5:26 p.m., Kingman Street was already filled with people checking out new car displays and lining up for food.
Mill River Brewing BBQ & Smokehouse served their pork and chicken barbecue to festival attendees.
The Crazy Cotton Candy Lady had a line of children waiting to taste the pink treat.
Olaf wandered Kingman Fest, and he didn't melt despite the sunny weather.
The Rail City Spidey encourages a fan to take a pose.
A little girl watches the Queen show while sitting on the shoulders of an adult.
Jesse Agan leaned into the Freddie Mercury role by growing a mustache and committing to Mercury's often flamboyant style.
Andre Maquera kept up the energy for most of the show as he jumped and danced on stage.
While everyone watched the stage, at least one person had turned around.
Ryan Sweezey (left) and Gary Spaulding (right) filled out the Queen group.
Drummer Gary Spaulding provided a high energy drum performance to the Queen concert.
Andre Maquera played a large part in helping organize the concert and figuring out how to best put on a live performance featuring Queen's hit list.
Andre Maquera played a large part in helping organize the concert and figuring out how to best put on a live performance featuring Queen's hit list.
Jesse Agan and Andre Maquera staked out the front of the stage throughout much of the performance.
Guitarist Andre Maquera plays through a Brian May solo.
Jesse Agan belts out a note in the style of Freddie Mercury, Queen's frontman.
Crowds on Kingman Street watch the Queen cover band take the stage during the inaugural Kingman Fest held Saturday, May 7.
Crowds on Kingman Street watch the Queen cover band take the stage during the inaugural Kingman Fest held Saturday, May 7.
Nearby, children were petting puppies and jumping on bouncy houses. Cobble Hill Kennel had set up a pen so people could check out their dogs, and children were hesitantly reaching in to hand off a dog treat to an awaiting puppy.
Doug Butler, the Cobble Hill Kennel owner, watched from the sidelines. He had been approached by event organizers to bring a few of his competitive sledding kennel dogs to help out with the event.
“The idea is to help people, and dogs help people,” he said.
Behind him, children were lining up to jump in bouncy houses or run through an inflated obstacle course from Bounce Around Vermont, and on Kingman Street, less than 100 feet away, food vendors had lines of people waiting to grab a bite to eat.
As the sun set on the scene, the crowds just kept coming. When the actual performance began, the street was practically standing room only due to the 3,000 to 4,000 that came out for the event.
By 7:30 p.m. the Queen cover band, fronted by local musician Jesse Agan dressed in a green sparkly jumper to emulate the flamboyant costumes of Queen singer Freddie Mercury, rolled out the first song on its setlist – “One Vision”.
“How are you guys doing out there?” Agan yelled out over the crowd. They returned his enthusiasm with a few “whoos!” and more dancing.
The hits continued throughout the night. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” had men and women dramatically acting out its iconic back-and-forth chorus lines, and “Don’t Stop Me Now” had them jumping with energy.
As for next year, Warshofsky and Smith have some time to figure out what a similar block party could look like, but if the day’s crowds were any indication, the first Kingman Fest definitely had plenty of people interested to see what could come next.
“People are talking about doing more events like this in the future,” Warshofsky said.
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