FAIRMONT — A free community event is slated for 6 p.m. on July 7, at Sylvania Park in Fairmont. Presented by The Extreme Tour, the event will include live music, action sports, a chance to win prizes, and is open to all ages. Event organizer Jamie Kueker shares what the Extreme Tour is about and what people can expect.

“The Extreme Tour is a national organization and they’re considered the largest free music and extreme sports tour in the world,” he said. “I’ve partnered with them, for now, the third summer in a row bringing them to Fairmont. What they do is they come to town for two or three days and on the first day, they kind of take a temperature of what’s going on with a community.

“The first year they rolled into town and they thought it seemed like a nice town. But Fairmont is a town where brokenness in the community is covered up by the beauty of the lakes and the nice houses. So on the surface, you don’t see what’s going on with alcohol and drug addictions and stuff like that.”

He also shared that The Extreme Tour is a 501c3 faith-based organization.

“Basically, their mission is they go on tour every summer, even last year during Covid, and they hit 300 cities in the United States. Typically they also go to England, Germany, Japan and China. They share the gospel with people right where they’re at.”

Kueker stated that he has partnered with the Covenant Church in Fairmont, which will be hosting all the artists coming to town.

“They tour with whatever they pack from their homes as well as the instruments and equipment they need to set up and tear down. I think the coolest part of what they do is what they call search and rescue. For the first day and a half, I’ll take them through the community and we just kind of meet people and they’ll just do some pop-up concerts.

“Last year, right after the Fourth of July, we ended up over by the Channel Inn but we couldn’t go in because of Covid restrictions. So we just sat outside the doors and were greeting people and they played some classic rock songs.

“It ended up where pretty much everyone that was in the bar ended up coming out with their drinks. They started taking requests and playing for the people, and the ones that weren’t performing, including myself, were talking with people and asking how things were going with life. It’s just a really cool experience.”

Kueker also said that he expects a good-sized turnout, noting that he observed a decent reception last year, in spite of Covid restrictions.

“I made a point last year to stop and talk to the City Administrator to make sure we were following all the restrictions, and she said since it was an outdoor show and as long as people were socially distanced it and kept the number under 225 it wouldn’t be an issue. We had food vendors out there and we have three or four lined up this year. We want to make it a really family-friendly environment so people will want to bring children out Wednesday night.”

Finally, Kueker notes that he is grateful for all those who help make the event possible.

He said he has enlisted the help of individual Seth Becker and several small businesses including Car Parts Direct, Indoor Technologies, Hawkins Chevrolet, Sovell Jewelry, and FAST Rideshare.