The Harmonium Project will present two upcoming events, the proceeds of which will help support the 2025 Dean Martin Festival. Harmonium, the nonprofit organization that created the First Fridays on Fourth festival, will host the Big Christmas Party in Steubenville at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, followed by the annual Historic Christmas House Tour in downtown Steubenville from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Both events will raise funds to support Dean Martin Festival, which will take place June 12-14. The festival is organized by the Dean Martin Association, an international nonprofit organization endorsed by Dean Martin himself and dedicated to promoting his legacy and work.
Celebrating what would have been the late Steubenville-born artist’s 108th birthday, the 2025 Dean Martin Festival promises a variety of events, from concerts to a 5K run. For the first time in the festival’s two-decade history, the Harmonium will lend its party planning expertise to the effort, bringing a First Friday vibe to the event through two to three days of outdoor music and food trucks.
Harmonium CEO Marc Barnes said the company is seeking financial support from the public to make the event possible. “We’re trying to start fundraising, mostly to pay for bands, musicians to come play in Steubenville,” Barnes said. “We’re hoping to turn (the festival) into a nationally recognized jazz festival. This is the first year of that. … With a name like Dean Martin, if you’ve got it, you should show it off.”
The first of two upcoming fundraising events is a Christmas party and a concert. The festivities will kick off at 6 p.m. with a potluck at Spyridon Studios, 189 N. Fourth St., after which guests will move to the third-floor ballroom at Leonardo’s Coffeehouse, 159 N. Fourth St.
For a $10 donation at the door, partygoers will enjoy dancing and music from a big band performing holiday classics and jazz standards with guest singers. Parents can take advantage of the free time upstairs while their kids participate in Christmas crafts on the second floor.
Barnes said many downtown businesses will be open during the party, meaning “Fourth Street will be as fun as the ballroom in general.” “I really enjoy this event because it’s a great celebration of Nutcracker Village,” Barnes said, noting that the party will “last until the end.”
The following three days will be the Historic Home Tour, which will return for its third year — Barnes hopes to continue the event’s growth and positive feedback. The tour will focus on Steubenville’s North Fourth Street historic homes but expand beyond them, giving visitors an inside look at the city’s architecture.