Photo from the Decatur Beach Party Facebook page.

After a one-year hiatus, the Decatur Beach Party returns this month.

The (usually) annual celebration of sun and imported sand will be held in the Decatur Square on Friday, June 17 from 5 to 11 p.m. The city will be bringing in 60 tons of sand, “transforming Ponce de Leon Avenue into Sandcastle Central,” the event announcement says. There will be a kid’s boardwalk, live music, dancing, a food court with funnel cakes and “fruity drinks.” As for the music, Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband will open for the headliner, Electric Avenue.

[adsanity id=27331 align=aligncenter /]

Advance tickets are $12 and can be purchased through www.TicketAlternative.com, www.Freshtix.com and local Decatur retail shops, according to the event announcement. Tickets are $15 at the gate. Children’s tickets – ages 4 to 12 – are $7 advance, $10 at the gate. It’s free admission for children under 3. Children’s activities are included in the price of the ticket.

The event is an annual fundraiser for the Decatur Business Association, with proceeds going to pay for other free events like evening concerts on the square, the event announcement says.

Last year, the DBA deviated and instead held the “Slide the City” event, turning West Ponce de Leon into a water slide. It did not go well, for reasons that weren’t really Decatur’s fault. Due to an unfortunate coincidence, a county grass cutting crew hit a fire hydrant on Henderson Mill Road on the Thursday before the event which led to days of low water pressure and put the county under a boil water advisory. The city had to shut down the slide early, at 1 p.m. on July 25, due to DeKalb’s inability to resolve the issue, and it was rescheduled for September.

DBA President Tim Martin told Decaturish in January that there was a “huge demand” for the Beach Party’s return.

Correction: An earlier version of this story provided incorrect information about the day of the week the beach party will be held. It will be held on Friday, June 17.