Concerts in the park great summer gigs

By Rebecca Petersen | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, June 7, 2008

Concerts in the Park (Roosevelt Park) start next week. I’m thinking, “Summer has to be here by then!”

If we all have our wish, every Thursday night for the next 10 weeks will be blue skies, no mosquitoes, and a cool summer breeze on a warm summer night.

Certainly, next Thursday, June 12, the musicians in Island Time, can transport us into summer.

What a great way to kick off concerts in the park and the the Lions will be serving their pork chop sandwiches!

Concerts in the park are at Roosevelt Park (between the Middle School and the High School on Randolph Avenue) from 5 to 7 p.m. (If for some reason there’s a Thursday night that’s pouring rain, they will be moved inside to A Center for the Arts — The Fergus Theatre — at 124 West Lincoln Avenue).

The June line-up also includes Thursday, June 19, Swedish Midsummer Musicians and Thursday, June 26, Singer/Songwriter David Stoddard.

Speaking of singers and songwriters, did you know that we have a song writer’s group that meets the first Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. at The Kaddatz Hotel? Everyone is welcome! (also, Celtic Music Jam at The Kaddatz Hotel at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month).

Both groups will continue to meet throughout the summer and, while the songwriters have already had their first Thursday gathering this month, there’s another special opportunity for song writers (poets and anyone else welcome) coming up.

Singer/songwriter Ann Reed will be in town on June 17 and 18. She has been out “troubadouring” across the state of Minnesota and has collected lots of new stories and songs for the Minnesota Sesquicentennial. She will be here, at A Center for the Arts, performing on Wednesday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m.

The concert is sponsored, in part, by Security State Bank, who helped initiate her visit when they heard she was working on a new song for Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial. She’ll be singing a collection of sesquicentennial songs, along with some old favorites.

But, back to songwriting, on Tuesday, June 17, she’ll be offering song writing workshops. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., she’ll be introducing some ideas and prompts for writing a song (or a poem) and anyone is welcome to attend — poets, musicians, enthusiasts.

Then, she will reconvene the group at 7 p.m. and, hopefully, there will be some new music, new lyrics, new poems, new songs that come out of the experience.

The cost for each session is only $5 (so the whole experience could cost only $10. And you might write an award winning song or poem!) You can attend either session or both. To sign up give us a call at 218-998-ARTS (2787).

Here’s to a happy, healthy, creative, productive summer — no matter what you choose to do with yourself, and remember, Summer Arts Academy starts in just a week (week of June 16) and there are lots of learning opportunities for kids and adults.

And Lance Johnson at The Mighty WurliTzer Theater Organ — next Saturday, Summerfest Saturday, June 14 at noon at A Center for the Arts.

Rebecca Petersen is the director of A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls.