YouTube screen shot | Pitbull and Blake Shelton teamed up in 2020 to record "Get Ready." The pair will headline two successive nights next weekend as part of the "Boots in the Park" concert promotion.

The Boots in the Park concert series was already one of the most popular events in the Central Valley, but it could reach new highs with next weekend’s concert by two stars of their own genres.

Costa Mesa-based Activated Events, the live entertainment company behind Boots in the Park, is launching a new, two-day festival with Party in the Park.

In the same venue where Boots in the Park launched in Fresno eight years ago, the Sept. 13-14 concert will be hosted at Woodward Park. 

Country star Blake Shelton will headline Saturday’s Boots in the Park concert, while global superstar Pitbull will headline the inaugural Party in the Park.

Activated Events CEO Steve Thacher said they had been trying to bring Pitbull to Fresno for a few years. The dates and timing just never worked out. But then an opportunity to book a whole weekend arose.

Party in the Park making its debut in Fresno is fitting, given that Fresno hosted the first-ever Boots in the Park concert in 2017. Thacher said Fresno has always been a special place for Activated Events.

“Boots in the Park brand started in Fresno around nine years ago. That’s where the first one took place,” Thacher said. “We knew that Fresno had a lot of country fans in the surrounding area, a lot of agriculture. I think also there was a lack of entertainment coming to Fresno, which is the fifth biggest city in California, and felt it was a little neglected. So we thought it was time to start bringing big names to the city.”

With its success, Boots in the Park now visits several cities along the southwest, reaching as far east as Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Like all Boots in the Park events, the performers are only part of the experience.

“There are a lot of other ancillary activities going on over the course of the weekend,” Thacher said. “We have our line dancing tent on Saturday at Boots in the Park, which is hugely popular. We’re also introducing a new feature for Fresno: the Woodward Sports Bar will be showing all your favorite football games throughout the weekend. The Whiskey Barrel Saloon on Saturday, then on Sunday, we’re flipping it overnight to the Cactus Cantina, offering 101 different tequilas.”

Both Boots in the Park and Party in the Park will include the return of drone shows, absent from the Boots in the Park concert in April.

“You’re gonna see 400 drones in the sky, curated for Saturday night for country music and curated on Sunday night for Party in the Park,” Thacher said. “So, two different shows — both are going to be fantastic.”

Next weekend’s festival builds on the momentum Fresno has established over the past few months by bringing global superstars to the Valley.

In August, Colombian entertainer Shakira performed at Valley Children’s Stadium — the first-ever concert at the venue. The event was a sellout.

“It speaks to the fact that Fresno has positioned itself very well to attract these kinds of artists to visit our city,” said Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell following the announcement of Shakira coming to Fresno. “We want to attract people not just within the city to attend these concerts, but outside of the city as well. It’s going to help establish us on the map as a hub of entertainment and be great for the local economy as we get people out here to spend their dollars and have a good time out with family and friends.”

Fresno has always been good to Activated Events, and a place for the promotion to launch new offerings. Even as the company continues to grow, Thacher acknowledged some of the downward momentum in the concert industry.

“If you look at certain trends, some have been down, maybe partially due to the economy, maybe over-saturation of events,” Thacher said. “It really depends who you talk to, but we’ve been fortunate enough that things have been going in the right direction.”

Looking ahead, Thacher hopes to expand in the next five years, potentially expanding the “In the Park” brand to the East Coast.

“Five years from now, I could see Boots in the Park really across the country, going as far as the East Coast,” he said. “Party in the Park, we’ll see where that goes. It’s a brand new brand, but the feedback has been phenomenal.”