Park concerts: 10 years and counting

This Friday night will conclude our 10th year of Fountain Park Summer Music, sponsored by The Van Wert County Foundation. We expect to go out with a “bang”!  We have Gary Puckett and the Union Gap band coming to perform our finale, beginning at 7 p.m.

Many of our concerts are not as well known as this week’s artist. Puckett has been performing since the 1960s and enjoyed remarkable success throughout the Sixties and Seventies with chart-topping hits songs such as “Young Girl” and “Lady Willpower.”  The band has definitely left its mark in the American Pop Rock world.  We are pleased to have them finish our 10th season of music in Fountain Park.

The concert begins at our usual 7 p.m. and will probably last about two hours. Then, following our concert, a huge 27-x-30-foot screen will be inflated and, as the band is loading out and after our audience has a chance to take a break and get some popcorn, we will promo the upcoming concerts coming to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center this year. This should take about 8 minutes and will then immediately be followed by a showing of The Wizard of Oz.  I hope everyone will be able to gather friends and family and enjoy an exciting concert and then take in one of the great movies of all time. This opportunity has been made possible in part by Statewide Ford, Taylor Auto Sales, and Lee Kinstle GM Sales & Service, all of Van Wert. If you have the chance, thank them for making this possible!

People from all over the region have been inquiring about the concert, as Gary Puckett has a big following. So expect to see some more new faces in the crowd this Friday and invite them back for more concerts in Van Wert.

I was asked recently in a newspaper interview what has made our concerts in Van Wert so popular.  I’m not exactly sure, other than what people have told me. They enjoy the variety and the fact that our concerts are fun and family friendly. I hope to continue this trend and offer concerts for a long time that people can trust and enjoy. Occasionally, we may stray a little on the “wild” side of things or maybe to the “conservative” side for others.  I guess it all balances out in the end and you hope you have reached everyone’s entertainment palate.

Come this Friday, be ready to have a good time with good people, good food (provided by the Cattlemen’s Association), good music and follow it up with a good movie that has become one of the most beloved of all time!

As I look back on this summer, there are many people, organizations and groups to thank.  I have mentioned many of them before, but one I want to mention as we wrap up another season is the congregation of Van Wert’s First Church of God. Kathleen Davis contacted me last spring and asked if they could help serve the community by picking up trash in the park following our concerts. I told her that would be great; however, our audiences seem to be very respectful and do a good job of picking up after themselves. I have, though, throughout the summer seen volunteers from the church going around the park filling trash bags. I know I appreciate their service to our community and I imagine the city parks department does too!

So, thank you to the good people of the church, as well as all the others who have had a part of making Fountain Park an enjoyable place to come for concerts over the past 10 years. Here’s to many more!

FINÉ.