(Editor’s note: Schedule of concerts follows this story)<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to go far to find free entertainment this summer in Kent.<\/p>\n
The annual city-sponsored Kent Summer Concert Series opens this week and offers a variety of free concerts nearly every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday over the next two months at several sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to do a real mix so we have different genres that appeal to everybody,\u201d said Ronda Billerbeck, city program manager for cultural events.<\/p>\n
The concert series includes:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Take-Out Tuesdays – from noon to 1 p.m. at Kent Station, 417 Ramsay Way. Concerts start July 7.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Wednesday Picnic Performances – especially for children, from noon to 1 p.m. at Town Square Plaza Park, Second Avenue and Harrison Street. Concerts start July 8.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Thursdays at the Lake – from 7-8:30 p.m. at Lake Meridian Park, 14800 S.E. 272nd St. Concerts start July 9.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Playground Performances – aimed at children, from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays at West Fenwick Park, 3824 Reith Road. Concerts start July 23.<\/p>\n
City officials also added three, free outdoor movies to be shown on Friday nights Aug. 7, 14 and 21 at Town Square Plaza Park. The movies are \u201cFootloose,\u201d at 9:15 p.m. Aug. 7; \u201cMama Mia!\u201d the sing-along edition at 9 p.m. Aug. 14; and \u201cKung Fu Panda,\u201d at 8:45 p.m. Aug. 21.<\/p>\n
The city presented an outdoor movie two years ago at Lake Meridian Park, but did not offer any movies last summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was popular and something we wanted to continue,\u201d Billerbeck said. \u201cWe picked a fun mix of movies. We think it\u2019ll be fun downtown at somewhere more central and where it\u2019s easier to park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moviegoers will need to bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on. City crews will set up a big screen at the northwest corner of the park, facing toward the fountains.<\/p>\n
While the movies could prove to be popular with residents, the concerts continue to be a hit summer after summer.<\/p>\n
The size of the crowds range from 200 to 500 at the Take-Out Tuesdays, 300 to 1,000 at the Wednesday Picnic Performances, 300 to 700 at the Thursdays at the Lake and 200 to 300 at the Playground Performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe summer concerts have been going on for a long time and they\u2019re always a fun, annual thing,\u201d Billerbeck said.<\/p>\n
The types of music at the concerts includes pop, rock, world and even a bit of classical.<\/p>\n
Recess Monkey, which bills itself as Seattle\u2019s greatest children\u2019s music band, is one group to keep an eye out for at the Wednesday Picnic Performances. Recess Monkey plays July 29 at Town Square Plaza Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of pop rock,\u201d Billerbeck said. \u201cThey have a lot of influences. They have silly and fun lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bearfoot, which plays July 16 at Thursdays at the Lake, is a bluegrass band from Alaska.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re an up-and-coming band,\u201d Billerbeck said.<\/p>\n
Concert organizers try to mix in newer bands along with older bands that always seem to draw a good crowd.<\/p>\n
Reilly and Maloney, the Seattle folk group that became popular in the 1980s, plays July 30 at Lake Meridian Park. Uncle Bonsai, a Seattle folk trio, plays Aug. 13 at Lake Meridian.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey parted ways but now they\u2019re back,\u201d Billerbeck said about Uncle Bonsai.<\/p>\n
The summer concerts are presented by Kent Parks, Recreation and Community Services and the Kent Arts Commission, with the support of local sponsors.<\/p>\n
For more information and schedules, call 253-856-5050 or go to www.kentarts.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kent Summer Concerts Series<\/p>\n
Take-Out Tuesdays, noon-1 p.m.<\/p>\n
at Kent Station Plaza, 417 Ramsay Way<\/p>\n
July 14 Bakra Bata<\/p>\n
July 21 Hot Club Sandwich<\/p>\n
July 28 The Senate<\/p>\n
Aug. 4 DownTown Mountain Boys<\/p>\n
Aug. 11 The Bottom Line Duo<\/p>\n
Wednesday Picnic Performances (for parents, children), noon-1 p.m.<\/p>\n
Town Square Park, Second Avenue and Harrison Street<\/p>\n
July 8 Tickle Tune Typhoon<\/p>\n
July 15 Roberto the Magnificent<\/p>\n
July 22 Bill Robison<\/p>\n
July 29 Recess Monkey<\/p>\n
Aug. 5 Brian Vogan<\/p>\n
Thursdays at the Lake, 7-8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Lake Meridian Park, 14800 S.E. 272nd St.<\/p>\n
July 9 Red Stick Ramblers<\/p>\n
July 16 Bearfoot<\/p>\n
July 23 Eric Bibb<\/p>\n
July 30 Reilly and Maloney<\/p>\n
Aug. 6 Los Pinguos<\/p>\n
Aug. 13 Uncle Bonsai<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Editor’s note: Schedule of concerts follows this story) You don\u2019t have to go far to find free entertainment this summer in Kent. The annual city-sponsored Kent Summer Concert Series opens this week and offers a variety of free concerts nearly every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday over the next two months at several sites. \u201cWe try […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":13936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-13935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13935"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/212"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13935"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=13935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}