Get ready for the Great Bend Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. Starting Friday, June 2, children and adults can register for the program. Read all summer long for the chance to win fabulous prizes.
The big summer kick-off is from 5-7 p.m. Friday on the front lawn.
There will be live music provided by Jimmy Dee and the Fabulous Destinations, free Mike and Ice snow cones courtesy of the library, and lawn games for the whole family, said Hannah Grippin, outreach manager at the library.
To wrap up the evening, the Adults Night Out Movie will be shown in the library at 7 p.m., with free popcorn.
“We are extremely thrilled to have a band like Jimmy Dee and the Fabulous Destinations here at the library to perform major hits from the 1950s and 1960s,” Grippin said.
“This band is the original group that started in 1975,” drummer Bill Gasper said. According to their website, in the early 1980s, the Fabulous Destinations went their separate ways, performing in a variety of popular groups. Jimmy Dee, meanwhile, went on to perform as the Jimmy Dee Band and maintained a loyal following for many years.
In 2000, six members of the original Jimmy Dee and the Fabulous Destinations agreed to reform and play a selected number of dates to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of the group. That reunion was expected to last one year, but positive response from loyal supporters prompted the band to continue playing.
For the Summer Reading kickoff, the band will celebrate the 1950s vibe with a hula hoop contest, Gasper said. “Jimmy loves doing it and the kids have a lot of fun.”
About the Summer Reading Program
Starting Friday, patrons can register for Great Bend Public Library’s summer reading program. Read all summer long for the chance to win fabulous prizes, Grippin said.
This year’s theme is “All Together Now,” so expect several musical adventures in the coming weeks.
The show must go on
Band headed to Great Bend despite guitarist injury
Jimmy Dee and the Fabulous Destinations are still scheduled to appear this Friday at the kickoff of the Great Bend Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, although band member Anthony Pfeifer won’t be playing guitar.
Pfeifer is also a member of the band Tim Anthony and the Animals. The 67-year-old musician was injured last Friday when that band was playing for a large crowd at the Final Friday on Forest event in Great Bend.
“Something in my shoulder snapped during the third set and I could not lift my elbow off the side of my body. I was in severe pain and went to the emergency room,” Pfeifer posted on Facebook.
Jimmy Dee and The Fabulous Destinations were scheduled to appear at the Ellis Alumni Dance on Saturday. The dance went on without the live band, as members served as DJs and played a variety of music.
Bill Gasper, the drummer and person in charge of booking Jimmy Dee and The Fabulous Destinations, said Wednesday they have been rehearsing with another guitarist from Victoria and still plan to perform outside the library this Friday, June 1. (In case of rain, they’ll move inside.)
Pfeifer will be handling lead and backup vocals and running the sound system with one arm in a sling for the next six weeks, Gasper said.
There was some good news this week as Pfeifer was told he won’t have to have surgery on the arm.
“We’re pretty confident this is going to work,” Gasper said.
