The sound that will be coming from the park is not a loud stereo — it is not a karaoke competition, either.
It is Arts in the Park that some might hear from afar.
For six weekends this summer, residents get a cost-free opportunity to hear great music in a lively, outdoor atmosphere, Phil Kuhl said.
Kuhl, a member of the Morton Fine Arts Association board, and others on the board thought of the possibility of an outdoor music production when the association was founded.
The Morton Fine Arts Association got a boost last year when the New Orleaners performed at the Bertha Frank Performing Arts Center.
The concert raised about $12,500 for the fine arts association, Kuhl said.
The association, aimed at promoting high-quality entertainment, such as music and art, in the community, has quite the schedule lined up beyond the summer, Kuhl said.
Since the New Orleaners’ performance, the fine arts association has pumped out several quality events, Kuhl said.
The past fall/winter concert series brought several musical performances to Morton that really entertained the audiences, Kuhl said. The series gave the association another boost.
“We’ve got a beginning,” he said. “(The fall/winter concert series) was really a successful program.”
Now, the fine arts association is prepared to bring another series in more lively scenery — outdoors.
Arts in the Park will be performed in Idlewood Park beginning July 10 with Carl Anderson and His New Orleans Jazz Band performing.
“It really is the product of the people who supported the fall/winter program,” Kuhl said.
Members of the fine arts association board received positive feedback, along with enough money to get the Arts in the Park series going, and have already planned another fall/winter concert series beginning later this year, Kuhl added.
A platform was built specifically for Arts in the Park. Menold Restoration and Construction assisted the fine arts association with lumber costs to help construct the stage, Kuhl said.
All shows will be performed from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday nights. Six different service groups and churchs will help with concession stands. Kuhl encouraged residents to bring their picnic baskets, blankets or chairs to the event.
During the summer performances, if bad weather threatens, concerts will be indoors at the ((Morton Education and Administration Center)) on Fourth Street, Kuhl added.
Kuhl said he is excited for the upcoming Arts in the Park series — he has been since it was only an idea. Music, he said, has a positive effect on people that does more than entertain.
“It changes (people),” he said. “Everybody is smiling. Nobody is thinking about their problems.”
With the Morton Fine Arts Association providing quality events to the community for the forseeable future, the concert series’ is giving residents something to anticipate, Kuhl said.
No matter what worries people may have, “At least you’ve got something to look forward to,” he added.
