Grove City summer season: Concerts, Homecoming, outdoor activities abound
From the Summer Sizzle concert series to the Homecoming Celebration and the Big Splash Aquatics Center, plenty of outdoor activities will keep Grove City Parks and Recreation staff members fretting about the weather during the upcoming summer season.
And that's fine by parks and recreation superintendent Kelly Sutherland.
After two summers of canceled or curtailed events, parks and recreation staff are planning a robust – in some cases expanded – roster of warm-weather happenings.
"Its's going to be nice just having to worry about the traditional things – whether or not it's going to rain – and not about people having to wear masks and, hopefully, not about a resurgence taking place," Sutherland said. "Rain worries, I can handle. We're looking forward to having close to a normal, traditional summer this year."
The free Summer Sizzle concert series will kick off May 27 with a performance by the Grove City Community Winds.
"We weren't able to feature a concert by the Community Winds last year, and the entire Summer Sizzle series was abbreviated," Sutherland said. "Usually, the series starts Memorial Day weekend and lasts until Labor Day."
The concerts were held only in July and August last year.
The 2022 series returns to its normal start at 7 p.m. May 27 the Friday before Memorial Day, but the schedule extends this season through September.
"We listened to what people were telling us," Sutherland said. "A lot of people want outdoor activities like concerts that last into the fall."
The series was moved last year to Town Center Park, 3359 Park St., the former library site across the street from the city's safety complex.
"It turned out to be an even better venue for the concerts than we anticipated," Sutherland said. "That green space is a perfect setting for people to bring a chair or blanket and enjoy some good music.
"It's like Picnic at the Pops, just on a smaller scale," she said.
The Town Center Park, which is still under development, is designed to help draw more people to the downtown area and introduce them to the district's restaurants, bars and shops, Sutherland said.
"One of the advantages of the Town Center Park is that it lies within our DORA district," she said.
The DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) is a boundary within the Town Center.
Patrons may purchase an alcoholic beverage in a DORA-designated cup from a liquor-serving establishment and take their drink with them as they stroll through the Town Center and stop at participating shops and businesses.
The DORA operates from 2 p.m. to midnight Mondays through Saturdays, except during a few special events, including Boo Off Broadway, the city's Christmas celebration and the Homecoming Celebration.
"We wanted to include the green space on Park Street in the DORA because that space is being used now for a lot of city events," Andy Furr, executive director of the Heart of Grove City, the nonprofit group that promotes the Town Center, said at the time.
The move to include the additional section of Broadway in the DORA boundary resulted after some of the businesses in that area expressed a desire to participate, Furr said.
The Homecoming Celebration, held in conjunction with the Grove City Alumni Softball Tournament, is set for July 29 on Park Street, east of Broadway and in and around the Town Center Park site.
The park is also set to host outdoor performances of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown by the Little Theater Off Broadway. The performances are scheduled for June 24-26 and July 22-24.
"We're set up so there a will be outdoor events in the Town Center just about every weekend through the summer, whether they are the Summer Sizzle concerts, the plays by the LTOB or the Food Truck Festival and Shop Hop the Heart of Grove City puts on every other week (May through October)," Sutherland said.
The Summer Sizzle series schedule includes:
May 27, Grove City Community Winds (patriotic marches and jazz)
June 3, Marquis 66 (classic rock & roll)
June 10, Whiskey Would (classic rock & roll)
July 1, The Usual Suspects (blues, Southern rock, Motown and jazz)
July 2, Special concert from 3 to 4:40 p.m., Central Ohio Brass Band (patriotic marches and jazz)
July 8, 50 Steps Up (Rock)
July 15, The Russell Blues Band (blues, jazz, Latin, pop)
Aug. 5, The Conspiracy Band (R&B, rock & roll and jazz)
Aug. 19, Ladies of Longford (contemporary Celtic, acoustic, pop)
Aug. 26, NACHO Street Band (variety)
Sept. 2, Lee Gantt Band (country, rock & roll)
Sept. 23, Rezes-Hall Band (classic rock)
Sept. 30, Lords of Literature (classic rock)
Concerts begin at 7 p.m. and are free.
More information is available at grovecityohio.gov.
Weather-related cancellation information is available on the @GroveCityOhio and @GroveCityParks Facebook and Twitter pages or by calling the weather hotline at 614-277-3060 the day of the event.
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@ThisWeekAfroman
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Grove City summer season: Concerts, Homecoming, outdoor activities abound
