The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Celebrating America in Fountain Park

Believe it or not, we are coming up on the weekend before the July 4 holiday.  With the Fourth falling on a Tuesday this year, our typical Friday night concerts fall squarely on either side of the holiday.  We will celebrate our Independence Day on each Friday before and after the Fourth.

This Friday, as has been tradition for many years, the Lima Symphony Pops Orchestra will be in Fountain Park presenting a concert of American music. It will include American Pop tunes, Broadway show selections, jazz, rock, Classical, and several patriotic selections and marches. This concert is always well received and I am sure this year will be the same. Maestro Crafton Beck has made our concert fit in his busy conducting schedule and will be on the podium.  He says Van Wert is always one of his favorite places to play.

There will be a group of citizens handing out American flags for a $1 donation which will be refunded if you return it to them following the concert. Otherwise, keep it and you just bought a $1 flag you can use again and again! This effort is headed by Linda Hartman. We thank her for her patriotic service.

The following Friday, July 7, features the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors. The musicians of the U.S. Army are outstanding players who play some of the best Big Band jazz music and patriotic tunes. They consist of professionally trained musicians from some of the finest schools of music and then audition for a place as a U.S. soldier. They travel the world over entertaining our troops, dignitaries, and citizens of America.

We are fortunate the Jazz Ambassadors were passing through the Midwest and I have always made it clear that Van Wert welcomes our military ensembles. They happened to have a Friday open and it worked out that July 7 was going to be an open date for us. Rather than take a Friday night off, I immediately said yes to them. It is an honor and a pleasure to host them in Fountain Park. You will enjoy these exceptional musicians and their exciting music!

We seem to be in a pattern of rainy weekends — just what a concert coordinator doesn’t want. Last week, I was monitoring the weather closely, with the help of Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy. Everyone was saying the rain would move out by mid- to late afternoon. I stuck to my guns and it ended up being a beautiful night for a concert with the Travelin’ McCourys. They gave us an exceptional Bluegrass concert in Fountain Park.

This week, with a symphony orchestra in the park, the set-up will be a bit more involved. With over 50 chairs, stands, percussion equipment, and a more intricate sound system, the decision will be a little trickier to deal with if we have rain. We will need to make the call as to being outside in Fountain Park or inside at the Niswonger PAC by 2 p.m.  News outlets, websites of The Van Wert County Foundation, the Van Wert City Parks Department, and social media will all be alerted if we need to move inside to the Niswonger. When in doubt, drive by the park after 2 p.m. and if you don’t see action of people working on stage, then it has been moved indoors.

At any rate, we hope you join us for an American celebration this Friday night with the Lima Pops Orchestra.  It will be a tremendously enjoyable evening of music.  If we are still outdoors, the Boy Scouts Troop 35 will be serving the food.  If we are forced to move indoors, then they will need to try again next year. This is another reason why I always try to keep concerts outdoors if possible.

Hey! Big sales days are coming soon to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Those who wish to buy the Grand Series can begin reserving their seats this Friday, June 30, starting at noon. Then, for those of you who wish to select your own concerts, you can start doing so on Select Series day: July 14. This is always a big day and we look forward to it at the Niswonger. 

The excitement for the 2017-18 season is building. You should have received your catalogs in the mail last week if you are on our mailing list. We have a tremendous line-up for 2017-18 and I look for the over 18,000 people on our mailing list to show up for tickets quickly. Don’t be left out! Make your plans now.

FINÉ.

POSTED: 06/28/17 at 7:17 am. FILED UNDER: News