While Chelsea area residents have been enjoying the weekly music festival known as Sounds & Sights on Thursday Nights all summer, this week the event morphs into a three-day extravaganza of entertainment, food and art featuring popular bands like My Dear Disco and 50 Amp Fuse

About 12,000 people come every year to the festival, which features live entertainment, a classic car show, a kid’s zone, a food court and the chance to practice the age-old hobby of people watching. It all takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the downtown area along Main Street from the library to the clock tower.

“It’s family entertainment, the most family-friendly entertainment that you can find,” said Bob Pierce, executive director of the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.

The bands are all top notch, said Aubrey Thornton Martinson, director of the Chelsea Center for the Arts.

“More than 70 bands auditioned, and only about half made it,” she said.

Now in its third year as the Sounds & Sights Festival, the event has its roots in the former SummerFest, which started out 30 years ago as a sidewalk sale. The only charge is for an entertainment tent set up behind The Common Grill, which costs $5 to enter.

“This year, our … schedule in the entertainment tent is absolutely stellar,” said Pierce.

On Thursday evening, the Ben Daniels Band, Champions of Breakfast and My Dear Disco take the stage. On Friday and Saturday, music lovers can rock out to the sounds of The Howling Diablos, The SunMessengers, The Noteworthy Band, and 50 Amp Fuse.

“My Dear Disco is a wildly popular band in southeastern Michigan…. And 50 Amp Fuse is a cover band playing around the country, not just in Michigan,” Pierce added.

Martinson said that festival officials are targeting a younger audience by hosting My Dear Disco.

“They have a huge following in the youth community,” she said.

New this year is a food court that is separate from the entertainment tent which features the fare of local restaurants like The Common Grill, Boogie Woogie BBQ, and Jet’s Pizza, to name a few.

“It will be cooked and served by local restaurants,” said Pierce.

Also new this year is an open-air art market in the downtown area.

“There will be various artists positioned around town and in some of the stores doing demonstrations,” Pierce said.

A kid’s zone in the Clock Tower fountain courtyard, will feature Colors the Clown, Boyer the Magic Guy, a bounce zone, and a Chelsea Center for the Arts craft tent, among other activities. .