5 People At Every Downtown Alive!

It's fall in Acadiana and that means we're right smack dab in the middle of the Downtown Alive! season. The Friday night free concert series in downtown Lafayette has become a tradition unlike any other, but aside from the great music, food, and entertainment, what makes Downtown Alive! great is the people. The following is a list of some of our favorite characters that no Downtown Alive! is complete without seeing. The 5 People At Every Downtown Alive!

1. The Possibly Homeless

From a distance you can't really tell.

Is that dude with the dreadlocks standing 6 inches from the speakers homeless, or just a well-off college student "finding himself"? Regardless, the Possibly Homeless guy sashays his way through the crowd carrying nothing but an unidentifiable beverage wrapped in a brown paper bag and an eye watering body odor that sticks with you long after he's gone.

Though we may never know his identity, Downtown Alive! just isn't Downtown Alive! without the Possibly Homeless guy doing his thing.

2. The New Parents

The new parents are ready for anything. Armed with a backpack full of juice boxes, wet wipes, and countless Ziploc bags of cereal, the new parents push their M-1 Abrams edition armor plated stroller through the crowd in search of a good safe place to settle. They're determined to make their night out with the family count.

Always on the lookout for possible threats or child hazards, the jorts wearing dad marks off kids' territory with traffic cones and police tape as mom casually talks to the people she used to call friends about how Little Johnny's soccer team is doing.

Around 7:30 they'll call it a night as they pack the kids up in the mini van and head home. They had fun though, and they'd love to do it again...when they can. Not sure when that will be though. You know, with the kids and all.

3. Brings His Ice Chest And Dog Guy

Downtown Alive! only really has two rules. No ice chests. No dogs. Fairly reasonable rules to follow for most people, but most people aren't the Brings His Ice Chest And Dog Guy.

Likely, wearing a novelty t-shirt, Brings His Ice Chest And Dog Guy cooly patrols the park while blowing cigarette smoke in your general direction and looking for opportunities to photobomb. He's pretty much the coolest guy in the crowd...at least in his mind.

4. The "5 O'Clock Somewhere" Crowd

As their "just one drink" at lunch slowly transitioned into the entire afternoon off, the "5 O'Clock Somewhere" crowd has turned the last day of the workweek into a Friday Funday.

Still wearing the clothes they went to work in, the "5 O'Clock Somewhere" crowd chats about office politics as they sip margaritas in the late afternoon sun. By the time the band starts playing, these workaholics have reached peak levels of alcoholic lubrication and are ready for party. Lucky for us, their co-workers that just got off brought their camera phones, so when the Head Salesman starts showing off his dance moves, his attempt at the running man can be recorded and replayed for years to come.

5. The "Came By Himself Solo Dancer"

Long before the band started setting up, the "Came By Himself Solo Dancer" was already on the floor, scoping out the scene and chatting up the sound guy. Wearing a fedora with a feather in it and the biggest smile you've ever seen, the solo dancer won't allow the fact that he came by himself stop him from socializing.

Completely oblivious to negative body language, the "Came By Himself Solo Dancer" ignores pleas of resistance as he drags girl after girl onto the dance floor. As creepy as he is harmless, the Solo Dancer is the first to arrive and last to leave and at times is more entertaining than the actual band. By the end of the night everyone cheers him on...at least until he approaches to select his next victim.

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