The ninth Annual Hopkinsville Summer Salute will be shifting to later in 2025 to escape the heat of August.
The Hopkinsville Parks and Recreation Department announced on Monday the 2025 festival will take place on September 12 and 13.
According to a release from the Parks and Rec Department, the adjustment comes in response to feedback from community members and results from recent event surveys.
The move is aimed at creating a more comfortable experience for everyone involved— including event staff, vendors, and attendees.
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Toby Hudson says the August heat created past challenges, with food truck vendors reporting temperatures inside their vehicles reaching up to 135 degrees due to the combined effects of cooking equipment and high outdoor temperatures.
Hudson says more details about the 2025 Summer Salute, including performer lineups, activities, and vendor registration information, will be released in the coming months.
In 2023, the city announced the festival’s footprint would expand by 50%, in order to better accommodate what they called a “crush of vendor interest,” and increase festival space in the downtown area.
Formerly known as Little River Days and held in mid-May for 34 years, the Parks and Rec Department rebranded the event to the Summer Salute in 2016 and moved it to the end of August.
