Smile

What makes Janet Gilray smile? “Figuring out new ways to incorporate live music into daily life,” said the Noblesville resident. She smiles at the support being given to Legacy Keepers Music, a non-profit she founded. People know the Hoosier-born singer and musician as the organizer behind the free “StringTime on the Square” summer concert series on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, but most don’t realize she has been mixing business, music and special events ever since her college days in Fresno, Calif. Gilray (pictured above in this 2021 photo by Sally Wolf) got her start as a business and marketing major when she landed an internship with the president of the town’s convention and visitors bureau. With that experience, she went on to preside over a non-profit cultural arts auxiliary affiliated with the city parks and rec and then established her own marketing firm to manage promotional events.  “I have always enjoyed gatherings in a public square. All my life it seems, I’ve been organizing art and music festivals, rodeo events, promotions where people come for a good time. Now I’ve simplified my life by encouraging live music — finding and hiring the musicians — they play, and I kick back and smile!” StringTime on the Square’s next free concert is an all-day Hamilton County Noblesville Township Music Festival, celebrating the Bicentennial, from noon to 8:15 p.m. Saturday at the Courthouse Square in downtown Noblesville, featuring musical entertainment all day, with a Slow Jam at 10 a.m. for players of all skills. Lawn chairs and blankets invited. Read more about the festival in the Betsy Reason column in the Thursday edition of The Times.