Guest blog via Market President Peter Barry:

The sun was still high in the sky and the thermometer was cresting 90 degrees as we arrived at Noel Field on Thursday, to begin setting up for the 9th annual Party in the Park concert series. The crew from Day Mountain Sound was already hard at work, setting up the sound system and transforming the Dean’s Automotive flatbed into the stage for the evening. 

WNAW’s Dave Fierro and Ryan Pause quickly got busy hanging banners, while I worked on setting up the tents. Before long WUPE’s Cheryl Adams arrived with some much needed ice, and we all quickly downed a few bottles of water before returning to our work setting up for the evening.

Soon the food vendors arrived, along with the band, and while everyone seemed to move a little slower in the heat, by 6pm the transformation was complete. The smell of Marky’s french fries and fried dough wafted through the air along with the aroma of hot pizza from Dominos. It took a few minutes for the band to tweak their equipment, but by 6:15, Chris Garrity and the boys from Legal Tender stepped up to the mic and with an opening song of the Beatle’s “Taxman”, the 9th annual Party in the Park had begun.

About 7pm as the sun fell behind the mountains, the temperature dropped and it turned into just a perfect summer evening. We broke out the cornhole boards, and it seemed like everyone there lined up to take their shots at the boards and a chance to win a Party in the Park tee shirt. 

About 45 minutes and 40 tee shirts later, I stopped to admire some of the classic cars that had joined us for the evening. They were all stunning, but one I had never seen before, particularly caught my eye. It was an absolutely beautiful, red, 1961 Chrysler Thunderbird convertible. I spoke with the owner who told me that that her husband just retired from the fire department and they had just bought it, their first classic car. If you see it there next week, and you probably will, be sure to check it out.

The band continued to play hit after hit of classic rock that almost anyone would recognize and enjoy. And despite the heat, the band just kept rocking. When I finally looked at my watch, I realized it was already almost 8pm. The band was belting out one of my all time favorite Zeppelin tunes, Good Times/Bad Times, and I thought, this is one of the good times, for sure. How fitting.

If you haven’t been to Party in the Park yet, there’s a lot of summer left, so come check it out, every Thursday evening from 6pm-8pm through August 23rd, and if you have a classic car, bring that too!

Party In The Park Legal Tender

 

 

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