Parkapalooza;
Summer’s Swan Song
By Bo White
Holy Crap…summer is over, already? But it’s only
just begun. I remember like it was yesterday shoveling snow and watching the
shiver on the river and thinking “it’s too damn cold out, now I know why my
grandparents migrated to Florida every winter.” But wait a minute…I’m not ready
just yet to bid adieu to summer. I do not want to feel cold ever again. NEVER.
I want to bask in the warmth of the sun and listen to that good old rock &
roll. It will never die; believe me - especially if we have people like Ed
Kerns keeping music alive in Midland County. I count on him to give me a day to
remember, to hear the magic and the truth in music. After all, music is the
food of love; prepare for some righteous indigestion. It hurts so good and
leaves you panting for more, baby. It all takes place at Sanford Lake Park. Yes
THAT Sanford Lake. It’s the lake that we’ve all been swimming and sun bathing
in since we’ve been babies. As precocious teens we use to ogle the girls and
say clever things like, you have nice butt, giggle giggle - awkward. Years later we took our children there to
swim, frolic and grill some hot dogs and burgers… good times, indeed. And it’s
been revisited for several generations since. It feels good just to know
Sanford Lake is still there and it is still a cool place to be. You can’t argue
with a half-mile of lake frontage and 1000 feet of soft sandy beach. It is a
local paradise, just add music and you will be in heaven,
Kerns and Company has enlisted a Bonnaroo-like
eclecticism by lining up bands that embrace diverse rhythms, melodies, syncopation
and beats. Rockers such as The Banana Convention, Jerkwater Town Boys and The
Screaming Casanovas will hit you like a punch in the chest. It hurts so good.
Chromatic Effect plays a hybrid of jazz and blues with some cool eastern
influences and an appreciation for melody. Steel Wheels is just a flat out
great country band with a well-deserved following. Magnum will provide the funk
and R & B while The Sinclairs will take you back in time for some tasty
classic/retro rock and Empty Canvas will blow your mind with something entirely
different. There is music and activities for everybody. The bands are an
excellent cross section of what is happening in mid-Michigan for 2012 and
beyond. Prepare to snap your fingers, move your feet and get your groove on to
the beat of Parkapalooza.
Ed Kerns from
the Midland county Parks system agreed to sit down and talk about this year’s
show
How were you able to convince
the Midland Park System to give you the go ahead for Parkapalooza
2012?
First, in the interest of full
disclosure, it’s important to know that I’ve worked for Midland County Parks
for nearly 30 years. Way back in 2004, when Parkapalooza was just an idea, it
came from the perspective of something that was good for the parks and good for
our visitors. It has always been the parks intention to give our customers the
best recreation experience possible, and offering an end of the summer family
festival is just an extension of that.
The fact that I’ve been a musician even longer
than 30 years made having music as the core of Parkapalooza a natural fit for
me. Partnering with Dstreet was a natural progression and that partnership has
worked very well for the past 8 years.
Is any other government entity involved?
There are many many people involved,
from civic groups to other nonprofit organizations. The city of Midland makes
their stage, and set up assistance for their stage, available to us and that is
a great help.
How much does a free concert cost you to put on?
You’ve heard the expression; “if you
have to ask, you can’t afford it”? It’s sort of like that. The show costs
Dstreet several thousand dollars in out of pocket expenses, for everything from
advertising to ASCAP to porta-potties, but the real costs are shouldered by our
volunteers, underwriters and generous sponsors. There is no such thing as a
free concert and without those folks, Parkapalooza would be unaffordable.
How much time and effort have you put into this?
It isn’t an easy task, and there are
many good people who work on it. Dstreet is a group whose best work is done
literally behind the scenes. Our board and volunteers work on this project year
around. Typically we begin discussing the festival in February and it snowballs
into the manic stage around June and July. If we do it right, on festival day
it should look easy.
Who are your staff, how many volunteers?
We are all volunteers. Dstreet has a
governing board, right now made up of nine people. Our President is Darrin
DeMott and our board members are Bill Morand, Pat McFarland, Gene McFarland,
Heather and Ben Cohen, Joe Caudy, Rob Caulkins and me. For an event like
Parkapalooza we will have about 100 volunteers in total. That includes the
bands who are volunteering their time and talent to support Dstreet’s mission.
How did you choose the bands?
Seven years ago it was really easy
to choose the bands. We simply begged everyone we knew and whoever said ‘yes’
was in. It is gratifying and humbling that playing Parkapalooza has become a
hot ticket in recent years and we’ve been lucky enough to have a great talent
pool to draw from. The hard part now is narrowing the line-up to just eight
great bands. We look for acts that have wide appeal, that are family friendly
and that are true professionals. It isn’t easy to get on stage with limited or
no sound check, hit your spot, wipe the sweat from your eyes, and play. There
are many players who are wonderful musicians, but just wouldn’t be comfortable
in that setting.
Are the Sinclairs still a great band? (I think so)
Umm…yes? I played with the Sinclairs band for a number
of years. We were a good band then and they are a great band now. In my
opinion, the thing about the Sinclairs is they’ve always been a fantastic
entertainment band, but now the level of musicianship has also risen to that
level. It would truly disgust me if I weren’t so fond of those guys. (laughs)
Do you film or record the show?
Midland Community Television often
records the show for broadcast. We’ve talked about doing an audio recording,
but wouldn’t do it without express permission from the bands. In a way, it
would be counter-productive. Parkapalooza is about the spirit of the music, not
musical perfection - and that doesn’t translate easily to tape.
Why did you choose a Sunday?
The festival is a tie in with
Founders Days in Sanford (where Sanford Lake Park is located) Founder’s Days
begins Saturday and wraps on Sunday. It
is a wonderful old-timey celebration with bean soup, a craft show,
parade…etc. I like to think of
Parkapalooza as a nightcap to Founders Day. Plus, on a very practical level,
most of our bands are working late Saturday night and are kind enough to roll
out of bed and entertain us on Sunday!
This is a family friendly show. What other activities do you
have for children/families?
I’m glad you asked! There will be a
huge silent auction, free wood crafts from Home Depot, a Climbing wall provided
by The Rock, the Turtle Tide SplashPad, A Geo-caching demonstration, Disc Golf
with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, a Bounce House from North Midland Family center,
a Scavenger Hunt, Sand sculpting contest…the list literally goes on and on.
Are there food and other vendors - selling CDs, shirts, and posters?
We’ll have a great variety of food
available, from hot dogs, to gourmet sandwiches to chicken dinners.
The bands will be able to sell
(and autograph) their merchandise after their set, but it may surprise you that
there will be a minimum of other vendors. We want Parkapalooza to feel like a
festival and not a flea market. Families can literally walk in with no money
and enjoy the show and activities.
I do have to add that Midland County
charges a $6 parking fee if you park inside the park. There will also be
inexpensive offsite parking available with a free trolley, or bike- taxi ride
into the park.
Can folks bring their own food and beverages? can they
barbecue?
Absolutely! It’s a park after all.
Only one major caveat; hard liquor is not allowed - and this is without
exception. Beer and wine in moderation are fine, but as you’ve pointed out, it
is a family festival. We owe it to our sponsors, the parks and other festival
goers to keep it that way.
Who are the sponsors?
We are grateful to be sponsored by,
Charter Communications, MidMichigan Health, The Great Lakes Loons and Chemical
Bank and Trust. Our Insurance is underwritten by the Miller Insurance Group.
Sanford Lake is beautiful. I have great memories from my teenage years. How does Midland County keep this natural wonder viable, beautiful?
The park has gone through a lot of
positive changes in recent years. It is a beautiful facility and we work hard
to keep it that way. Ironically one of our most significant problems now is
managing the crowds who have discovered this park and often come from great
distances to enjoy it. It is growing pains in the truest sense, but we’re
pleased and proud to be a place people want to visit.
Any last comments?
I’d
like to let people know about a raffle we’re promoting. Dstreet is giving away
an iPad (3), a Kindle Fire and an iPod Nano. Tickets are $5 , support our
foundation and will be available at Palooza
or now from any Dstreet board member. All prizes will be awarded that
day and you need not be present to win.
Also
we are seeking contestants for this year’s sand-sculpting contest sponsored by
Chemical Bank. There is no fee to enter and there will be $150 in prizes. Rules
and registration are available at Dstreet.org.
