Hundreds of people came downtown Thursday evening for the Great Bend Municipal Band’s first concert of 2017. It was the 90th anniversary celebration and rededication of the Clayton L. Moses Memorial Band Shell, located on the south side of the Barton County Courthouse Square. It was also the dedication of the latest improvement to the band shell, the Thelma Faye Harms Stage.
Great Bend City Administrator Howard Partington told audience members that the other new improvement in the park, a splash pad, will be turned on Saturday during the June Jaunt celebration. The area, known as Jack Kilby Square, will feature Jumbo Yard Games, Relay for Life Kids Zone, live music, vendors, face painting and a rock climbing wall in the morning; the Great Bend Business Olympics from 1-3 p.m. followed by a Jumbo Pool Tournament; and a beer garden from 2-11 p.m.
There are also June Jaunt events going on all day today, Saturday and Sunday at various locations. A complete schedule can be found on the “Explore Great Bend” Facebook page.
Read more about June Jaunt events at http://www.gbtribune.com/section/69/article/105882/
City Band
The City Band and dedication of the stage deserved a night of their own, with remarks by Partington and Mark Calcara, representing the Thelma Faye Harms Trust.
“The City Band has been a source for pride for many years,” Partington noted. The expanded stage and other improvements to the band shell make it more accessible, and it continues to serve as a modern venue for the band and for many other community events.
“Words really cannot express the beauty and the functionality of this iconic structure,” Calcara said. “There’s a lot of pride in the downtown community that really represents the spirit of the community.”
Joe Boley, a former City Band director, shared some history of the band shell and the bands that performed throughout the years. Vern Fryberger served as emcee and narrated the musical number “Ceremony of Allegiance,” with the audience members standing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the piece. Colors were presented by the Sons of the American Revolution - Sons of the Plains Chapter.
Featured musicians with the band were Marc Webster on trumpet and Katie Sperry on alto saxophone for “The Pals,” and xylophone trio Kurtis Koch, Debbie Koch and Taylor Clark for “Serenade for a Picket Fence.”
In the audience was Rosina Helsel, Great Bend, daughter Domingo Scotti. Professor Scotti was the City Band director from 1927-1935. His “Pride of Great Bend March” was played at the band shell’s 1927 dedication and was specially written for the occasion.
Bottled water was furnished by the Order of the Eastern Star and popcorn was furnished by Central Kansas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).
This year all of the City Band performances will be outdoors, unlike previous years when July programs moved across the street and indoors to the Crest Theater. The air conditioning is being worked on at the theater, and at each show the public is invited to leave donations for the City Band and the theater.
Today’s City Band is directed by Steven Lueth. For Thursday’s program he wrote and premiered “The Courthouse Square March” and arranged two pieces that were performed at the 1927 dedication, Professor Scotti’s “Pride of Great Bend March” and Robert Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne.”