Celina concert series shifts three shows to amphitheater

CELINA - Volunteers behind an annual concert series aim to take another crack at hosting a handful of Sunday evening shows this summer at the Harley C. Jones Memorial Rotary Amphitheater, the so-called "crown jewel" of the Bryson Park District.

Celina Summer Concert Series shows held at the amphitheater a few years ago reportedly drew sparse crowds. The weak turnouts were chalked up not to the caliber of musical acts but rather the unique preferences of longtime concertgoers, who had grown accustomed to watching the performances at the park's red tent from within their vehicles.  

The shows were then rerouted to the red tent the following summer, an arrangement that came under fire by Celina City Councilman Eric Clausen at a March 2024 council meeting.    "It seems like it's a waste of a million dollar facility to sit there and nobody use it," Clausen said at the time about the $1.2 million amphitheater. "How many times do we use that a year, the amphitheater?"

Mayor Jeff Hazel also elaborated on the situation at the March 2024 meeting.

"It's because they can't drive up," he said. "The whole area in front of the amphitheater does have that whole lower area that's for handicap accessibility, but it's the drive up."

Hazel said he has encouraged the group to hold their shows in the amphitheater.

"The acoustics are better, there's a lot of really nice things in there, but the people can't drive up," Hazel said.

At this week's regular council meeting, concert commitee member Monte Diegel said plans for this summer concert series calls for three shows to be held at the amphitheater and three at the red tent.

"We had tried some concerts at the amphitheater a few years back," he said. "Attendance-wise, they just were not very successful."

The setup of the concert summer series, Diegel noted, is "very, very, very unique."

"If you come down there on any Sunday night, you'll maybe see a couple hundred sitting in lawn chairs and probably that many more sitting in their cars parked out in the field," Diegel continued. "No other concert series in the county can say that."

Nevertheless, organizers want to give the amphitheater another shot, he said. Three concerts will be held at the red tent and three at the amphitheater.

"We also scheduled one in cooperation with the Celina Lake Festival committee to wrap up Lake Festival weekend," Diegel revealed. "We're not 100% sure whether we're going to do that one at the amphitheater or at the red tent. We're still trying to work out those details with the commitee itself, but they're on board with that happening."

Organizers have identified a band they'd like to book for the show, Diegel said, without naming the act.

"We'll probably be reaching out to our promoter hopefully yet this week to make contact with that group to see if they're available for that Sunday event," he said.

Clausen embraced the idea of shows returning to the amphitheater.

"I think it's great that you guys are going to be using the amphitheater," Clausen said. "I think it's such a great piece down there, and I hope it goes well, and the audience will come back to that."

Hazel concurred with Clausen's take.

"This is a great community event. We've attended many of those and just really do enjoy those," the mayor said. "And it's all different styles of music, obviously, but it draws a tremendous amount of people. So thank you guys for continuing this."

Councilors then passed first reading of legislation authorizing an agreement with Celina Concert Series to lease a portion of the Bryson Park District for shows on June 7, 14 and 28 and July 5, 12 and 26.

This will be the organization's 23rd season. In the past all performances began at 6:30 p.m. Sundays. There is no fee, though donations are welcomed.

Mercer County Marksmen 4-H Club has provided concessions - hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, brats, popcorn, chips, snacks and bottled water- starting at about 5:45 p.m. before each performance.

All donations from the concessions stay in the community and are used for special projects. The series is sponsored by local businesses and individuals.

"We are completely donor-funded, so 100% of the money we get is contributions from businesses and groups," Diegel said. "We have a budget of about $10,000-12,000 per season for the acts and all the expenses, and we work with a fantastic 4-H group that provides our concessions down there."