The summer concert series in the park carries on more than 60 years of tradition in the city of Jamestown. This year’s schedule includes seven concerts.

On Wednesday, the theme of the summer’s first Jamestown Municipal Band concert was “Music for a Summer Night.” However, the concert also gave a preview of some of the various themes for the remaining six concerts in the park.

Wednesday’s concert was well attended by city residents. The crowd was excited to welcome back the band’s free performances in the park on a beautiful summer night of ideal weather conditions. The band even provided opportunities for the crowd to interact with the performance during a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

One of the concert attendees,Vicki Ingerson, was glad the program still exists and expressed excitement for the summer concert series.

Pictured in front is Vicki Ingerson, who was among dozens who turned out for Wednesday’s performance.

“Old time folks still enjoy this,” she said. “There are not many free events left in Jamestown. It’s nice they still do this.”

Refreshments at the concert were available for purchase, with donations supporting the Allen Park Women’s Club.

Allen Park Women’s Club President Sandy Gullotti said the summer concert series is one of the biggest fundraisers for the organization each year.

“All the money that we raise goes right back into the park,” she said.

Gullotti said the women’s club uses “every penny” to make significant improvements to the city’s park.

“We have purchased benches, trees, new signs, new park equipment, the swing set, the slides,” she said.

“This area right here at the Band Shell is the most beautiful little gem we have inside our city,” Gullotti said. “When you watch all the people that come and you watch all the young children on the hill, rolling down, playing, to me it means we have kids making memories that are going to keep this going forever and ever hopefully.”

The Jamestown Municipal Band will perform Wednesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. throughout the summer, until the final park performance Aug. 10. Outdoor performances will be weather permitting. According to the band’s director, rescheduled dates are a possibility if the weather prevents one of the scheduled concert dates.

The weekly concerts are free to attend; multiple donors and partnerships have contributed to the financial provision for this year’s concert series, allowing the concerts to remain free to the public.

In an interview with WRFA, Band Director Rick Lundquist addressed the concert series’ full return after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re so glad that we’ll be able to do them again, and we’re going to try to put on a full schedule like we used to do before this pandemic hit,” he said.

July 6 will be the annual patriotic concert. Other concert themes throughout the summer will include big band and jazz, Broadway and Hollywood, music honoring the people of Ukraine, international music, the annual children’s concert, and a surprise theme.

This year, there are about 50 band members from the community. The members range anywhere from high school students to musicians in their 80s. The concerts put on by Jamestown Municipal Band provide, “Music you know and love played by your friends and neighbors,” Lundquist said.

People who attend the concert series can expect family friendly concerts with music from a variety of genres and composers. Classical favorites can be enjoyed alongside new musical compositions.

In addition to the seven weekly concerts in the park, the band will also be featured on a float in Mayville’s Fourth of July parade as well as a special performance at the Labor Day Festival.