RAPID CITY, S.D. – Organizers of the popular Summer Nights in downtown Rapid City have announced the 2025 season has officially been cancelled.
Judd Nielsen, President of the Summer Nights board, said a permit denial and safety concerns brought to the city council resulted in the move to cancel the season.
Back in December, he said, the Rapid City Council denied the summer nights permit application after some downtown businesses requested relocation of the event and there were concerns about the safety of closing some streets.
“So we kind of knew it was coming, but we kind of kept at it, trying to see if there was anything that we could come up with that that might work for us for a full season,” Nielsen said in the press release.
“And basically we just had to come to the fruition that, you know, we can’t put on a 14 week season this year, and it definitely wouldn’t be downtown, since the locations that we thought might work just just aren’t, aren’t going to be approved.”
Nielsen said the Summer Nights group has worked closely with the police and fire departments and is unsure where the safety concerns originated.
Due to location and other obstacles, Nielsen said downtown is no longer an option for Summer Nights although discussions about the event downtown may still take place.
Nielsen said it’s too early to publicly discuss alternate locations for Summer Nights but the group does plan to hold a 2026 season.
