Pack some snacks, unroll the picnic blanket, and enjoy the breeze. It’s time for the Lawrence City Band concerts in the park.

A staple of every Lawrencian’s diet, the City Band concerts at South Park signify the official start of summer here in LFK. After what seemed like weeks of rain, the skies cleared out for a couple of days while the parks dried up. Revelers enjoyed a mild evening on the grass while children munched away at snow cones and frolicked in the fountain.

The band, perched up in their post on the gazebo, delighted with several upbeat numbers under the careful direction (and graceful baton swings) of Robert Foster. As always, Lawrence will be treated to these outdoor city band concerts every Wednesday this summer. Each event adheres to a different theme (listed below). Wednesday’s was appropriately titled “A New Summer Season. If you missed this summer’s kickoff, you can catch one of the others weekly performances:

June 3 – Musical Tribute to World War I
June 10 – Strike Up The Band
June 17 – Children’s Concert
June 24 – Shall We Dance?
July 1 – Our Own 4th of July Concert
July 8 – Park Concert Favorites
July 15 – Grand Finale (The 1812 Overture and The Stars and Stripes Forever)

The Lawrence City Band Concerts are held every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. at South Park and are free to the public. If it rains, the concerts are held at Murphy Hall, Room 130, up on the KU campus. Otherwise, we highly encourage you to indulge in a little summer sluggishness and slow it down every Wednesday on the South Park lawn.

Words and photos by Fally Afani