It\u2019s been three years since Jeb and Joc Guthrie discovered Van Wert, Ohio.\u00a0 These brothers, who hail from New Jersey, just outside New York City, fell in love with our town of Van Wert.\u00a0 I still remember the letter they sent after their 2011 performance in Fountain Park.\u00a0 They mentioned how much they loved the atmosphere of Fountain Park, the people, our downtown, its buildings, and especially the hospitality they received during their first visit to Van Wert.<\/p>\n
The feeling was mutual, as our Fountain Park audience loved the music of the Guthrie Brothers who go by the name of Scarborough Fair — an appropriate name taken from one of Simon & Garfunkel\u2019s all-time hit songs.\u00a0 But then again, there are so many songs sung by Simon & Garfunkel that have become common folklore of American Music.\u00a0 Just to jog your memory a bit, consider a few of these titles: \u201cSounds of Silence,\u201d \u201cMrs. Robinson,\u201d \u201cCecelia,\u201d \u201dAmerica,\u201d \u201cFeelin\u2019 Groovy,\u201d (I know, it\u2019s really \u201cThe 59th Street Bridge Song\u201d) \u201cI am a Rock,\u201d and of course \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water,\u201d just to name a few.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know about you, but when I think of Simon & Garfunkel, I think of their reunion benefit concert in September of 1981 in Central Park, downtown Manhattan.\u00a0 They played for an estimated half a million people!\u00a0 If a tribute to any performer was ever due, it would be Simon & Garfunkel.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t think of any better two people to give tribute to their music than the Guthrie Brothers. \u00a0I originally heard them sing on an Internet clip I was sent.\u00a0 Since then, I have heard them sing in Fountain Park in 2011 and then again in New York City this past January.\u00a0 Instantly, I knew it was time to bring them back to Van Wert\u2026 and they were willing, able and excited to return to Fountain Park to share some of the great music of one of folk-rock\u2019s all-time greatest duos.<\/p>\n
The concert is this Friday, July 25, at 7 p.m., and is free to the public.\u00a0Just bring a lounge chair and claim your spot for some wonderful music under the stars.\u00a0 If you come a little early, you might want to browse some of the marketers who will be set up surrounding the park.\u00a0 They will be providing a variety of goods and produce including a large selection of cookies by Flour Loves Sugar — homegrown produce — artisan jewelry and crafts -fresh baked goods -homemade salves and lotions -snacks and more!\u00a0 These efforts are coordinated with the Main Street Organization of Van Wert.<\/p>\n
Bring your appetites with you, too, as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Men\u2019s Auxiliary will be serving food before and during the concert out of the Rotary concession stand beginning at 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
I thought you might find it interesting to see who is leading the PAC(K) in ticket sales for the upcoming Niswonger season.\u00a0In first place is the Kenny Rogers Christmas Show with guest star Linda Davis.\u00a0In a close second is Country music sensation Josh Turner and guest artist Katie Armiger, followed by The Temptations.\u00a0All three concerts are more than halfway sold out by those bundling three or more concerts as part of our Select Series.\u00a0You can do the same and reserve your seat before (and IF) remaining tickets go on \u00a0sale approximately 90 days before the event.\u00a0 Call the box office at 419.238.NPAC (6722) or order online at NPACVW.ORG<\/a>.<\/p>\n We have seen a lot of buying of Niswonger tickets coming from all over the region.\u00a0 Our summer interns, Caitlin Hancock and Alina Osika, have been on the road sharing our upcoming season to people throughout the area.\u00a0Remember to sign up for the opportunity of winning a Grand Series of concerts this year at the Niswonger.\u00a0You can do this at the information table this Friday as well as receive information on the entire season.<\/p>\n I hear a lot of people say they have shared a catalog with friends and acquaintances from out of town.\u00a0That\u2019s a great idea!\u00a0 Thank you for being good ambassadors for the PAC and Van Wert.\u00a0We now have handy little business card size schedules of the upcoming Niswonger season you can pick up at the information table the Friday night too.\u00a0Just another handy tool to pass on to others about the great things coming this year to Van Wert and the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n I look forward to seeing you this Friday in Central … err, I mean Fountain Park, as we enjoy the music of Simon & Garfunkel.<\/p>\n FIN\u00c9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been three years since Jeb and Joc Guthrie discovered Van Wert, Ohio.\u00a0 These brothers, who hail from New Jersey, just outside New York City, fell in love with our town of Van Wert.\u00a0 I still remember the letter they sent after their 2011 performance in Fountain Park.\u00a0 They mentioned how much they loved the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 10:35:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}