The Philomath Park Advisory Board’s preparations for this summer’s Music in the Park concert series took a step forward with the ranking of 18 bands that had submitted applications to play the venue and listening to a proposal by the Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the final performance.
Member Owen Cass compiled a survey from others on the park board and briefly explained how the bands were ranked using a point system. Those results were not made public at the meeting through any discussion or within the published meeting packet.
Assistant City Manager Chelsea Starner was tasked with reaching out to bands in the board’s preferred order to confirm participation and fill in the five available concert slots. Starner mentioned that she will also come up with a list of backup musicians to perform if any confirmed bands cancel, which she said has happened in the past.
The city published a list of 15 bands in a packet for the February meeting but that meeting was canceled. Starner said a glitch with the online application system prompted the city to extend the deadline to express interest and three additional bands applied to bring the total to 18.
Music in the Park, which debuted in May 2016, will kick off the season with a May concert by Philomath students. Other concerts will follow on June 28, July 8, July 26, Aug. 12 and Aug. 23.
Nikki Hasley, who has served as the chamber’s executive director since last July, spoke to the park board during the public comments portion of the meeting about the organization’s enthusiasm for sponsoring the final event.
Last year, the chamber became involved with the season-ending concert by hosting a Business After Hours event “hoping to draw our membership in a little bit and make that event a little bit bigger for the Lions Club and the city,” Hasley said.
“Since then, it sounded positive on all ends that that might be something we’d be willing to do again and come our budget in January, we did throw a bunch of money behind it, so we have a little bit of a backing for that event,” Hasley said.
Hasley added that she had touched base with two nonprofit organizations — Philomath-based Maxtivity Creative Space for Community Arts and Jackson Street Youth Services out of Albany — about coming in as partners to provide activities.
Including the chamber as a possible participant will reportedly be a topic of discussion at the park board’s April 7 meeting.
As part of Hasley’s comments to the park board were a few mentions of not wanting to step on the toes of the Philomath Lions Club, an organization that has been involved with Music in the Park since its inception. Starner provided some background by mentioning that the city had received a letter from the Lions Club that the organization was discontinuing its involvement related to a situation that she described as miscommunication.
“As of this moment, the Lions has pulled out this year so we don’t have a vendor for Wednesdays,” Starner said.
The Lions Club had served hamburgers and hot dogs at the midweek concerts. Starner indicated that she hasn’t given up on the Lions Club’s future involvement.
“I’m going to be meeting with the Lions Club at their meeting to talk a little bit more about not just Music in the Park but some other events and things that they help with in the community,” Starner said. “If the Lions are interested in still doing something with us this year, I will just help bridge that partnership a little better this year and we’ll try to work together.”
Hasley expressed the hope that the Lions Club could be reconnected with the event.
“I’m working on that,” Starner said. “We would like that as well.”
Mud Oven Pizza has served as a food vendor at the Sunday concerts. Starner said she believed the organization would be back this summer but needed to confirm.
Starner also plans to approach Maxtivity and Philomath Community Library about providing activities for youth and families. The library had been involved with Music in the Park for years but could not make last year’s schedule work because of a shift of the midweek concerts from Thursdays to Wednesdays.
“We missed it last year — we missed having that at our weeknight concerts and I do think that attendance was down a little bit because families really looked forward to that and would bring their kids there because there were other things to do besides listen to great music,” Starner said in reference to the library’s past involvement.