Central Park to get a bandstand

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Summer concerts in Central Park will never be the

same. The city will soon break ground on a permanent bandstand.

By late March, construction is expected to begin on the 2,400-square-foot

concrete stage, located north of the Central Library by Talbert Lake,

said Michael Mudd, the city’s cultural services manager. The stage will

allow music lovers to better see and hear the 60-piece Huntington Beach

Concert Band, which until now has had to set up its equipment on the

grass, he said.

“The concert band has a home now,” said Suzanne Beukema, a member of the

nonprofit group FANS, the Friends and Neighbors of Seacliff.

The organization spearheaded a campaign to collect about $75,000 in

private donations.

The city has been considering the project for more than 20 years. But

plans kept getting pushed to the back burner because of a lack of funds,

Beukema said.

“We decided to resurrect the project,” she said. “We wanted to give

something back to the city.”

The group received donations as small as $5 from residents to as much as

$10,000 from the Boeing Co., she said.

The bandstand, with metal railings, decorative banner poles, and an entry

arbor, should make its concert debut July 2, she said.

Free performances will be provided not only by the volunteer municipal

band but also by other groups, Mudd said. To ensure the concerts don’t

bother bystanders, the music will not be amplified, and concerts will be

held only during daylight hours, he said.

QUESTION

A GOOD VENUE?

What do you think of having a band stand in Central Park? Leave your

thoughts on our Readers Hotline at 965-7175, fax them to 965-7174 or send

e-mail to [email protected]. Please spell your name and include your

hometown and phone number for verification only.