Herald photo The instrumental trio of Banter Waves brought their unique sound to the Greewaters Park Amphitheater stage on Saturday.
By GEORGE CUSTER/Editor/ The Herald — Every year, local volunteers work selflessly to find sponsors, vendors, and musical groups so that the Concerts in the Park series continues, year after year, to provide a fun respite for our community and visitors.
Many towns and cities have similar summer park music events. What most people don’t think about or even realize, is the amount of work that goes into putting on these summer events. As a nonprofit, Concerts in The Park has to raise the funds necessary to put on the event. Numerous phone calls have to be made to locate food and craft vendors, arrange for the performing artists, solicit for additional volunteers to set up and tear down the array of chairs, tables, pop-up shelters, and attend to the other myriads of small details that go into putting on a successful outdoor event.
Herald photo Kevin Gobelman, organizer of this year’s concert series, is proud of the work that has gone into the event.
Kevin Gobelman* stated in his letter to the city when requesting support for the concert series, “Enjoying live music in this relaxed outdoor setting is a great way to de-stress and improve your mental well-being. To motivate people to get outside, walk around, and engage in physical activity.
We believe that a community that offers free cultural events like music festivals is perceived as being vibrant, attractive, and invested in the well-being of its residents.
Enjoying live music in this relaxed outdoor setting is a great way to de-stress and improve your mental well-being. To motivate people to get outside, walk around, and engage in physical activity.”
Herald photo A beautiful early afternoon brings out families to enjoy the music and to visit with friends and neighbors.
Kevin went on to elaborate, “We believe that a community that offers free cultural events like music festivals is perceived as being vibrant, attractive, and invested in the well-being of its residents.”
If you didn’t get a chance to attend Saturday’s concert, keep your eye peeled and mark your calendar for the remaining shindigs this summer.
* Editor’s note: Kevin reminded The Herald that a group effort went into the production of the Concerts in the Park. The rest of the team consists of:
Rene Gobelman
Carina Schorer
Morgan Barber
Brian Krokus
John Baumann
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
