Thursday nights in downtown Conway are reserved for fun, fellowship and live entertainment.

The City of Conway and the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce created Conway Crawl about a year ago as a way to encourage folks to visit the downtown after hours to support local stores, shops and restaurants. As an incentive, merchants agreed to stay open until 8 p.m. while the city provided entertainment.

“The goal was to bring folks to downtown Conway and let them see what we have to offer,’’ said Foster Hughes, the city’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director. “We have fine restaurants, stores and shops, and all the amenities that come with those things.’’

The Crawl initially offered live local entertainment every Thursday, drawing a small crowd of about 50 people. But when the city introduced its Halloween Carnival to the mix, about 3,000 people spilled onto the streets, and the city realized folks were hungry for a variety of activities, Hughes said. “They wanted more diversity and family-friendly activities,’’ he said.

This year, the Conway Crawl takes on a different feel in response to that demand for diversity. More regional entertainment with well-known bands and family-friendly programming has been added. There still will be live music on the first Thursday of each month with subsequent Thursdays featuring events such as sock hops, games, karaoke and ice cream socials.

“On the second Thursday, we’ll have games throughout the downtown,’’ Hughes said. “We’re changing it up and branching off Third Avenue onto Laurel Street and Main. We want people to get out and explore.”

The lineup for the evening concerts was incomplete at press time, but here’s a look at some planned upcoming events:

June 30 | Patriotic themed activities to celebrate

July 4 July 21 | Cruise In and Ice Cream Social

Aug. 18 | Sock Hop

Sept. 15 | Karaoke Night

Oct. 16 | Cruise In and Ice Cream Social

Oct. 27 | Halloween Carnival