Something new is coming to Fountain City Park this summer. The Fountain City Lions Club will debut the Concerts in the Park series, four concerts set for the second Friday of each summer month, with local bands, food vendors and festival seating under the big, shady trees on the park lawn.
Penny Kleinschmidt serves on the Lions Club’s entertainment committee with Kelly Long and Bob Davis. She said concerts in the park seemed like a natural fit.
“We wanted to do something to get our name back out and do something for the folks in Fountain City. The park is a very special place,” she said.
Penny Kleinschmidt
The Lions Club maintains the park and Fountain City Lake. The concerts are free to the public, but vendor fees and donations collected at the concerts will go right back into the park. The first project on the list is to redo the park’s walking trail to get rid of what Kleinschmidt calls “natural speed bumps.” The club needs $8,000 more to reach the project’s cost of $18,000.
Corporate sponsors are paying for the bands, and Kleinschmidt said the series would not be possible without corporate sponsors.
The concerts are family-friendly, and Kleinschmidt is already working on lining up bands for next year’s concerts. This year’s series is full for food trucks, but craft and farmers market vendors are still needed. Deadline for vendor registration is May 1.
This year’s musical acts are:
- May 11 – Grassically Trained, a bluegrass band from Corryton, sponsored by Penny Kleinschmidt State Farm.
- June 8 – The Tennessee Sons country music band from Knoxville, sponsored by Fountain City Jewelers.
- July 13, Karen Reynolds, a Fountain City native performing Americana music, sponsored by Knox Native Real Estate.
- August 10, Candice McQueen with “folked-up acoustic rock” from Knoxville, sponsored by Knox County Commissioner Michele Carringer.
The shows go on rain or shine. Kleinschmidt said she’s purchased rain ponchos and fans to hand out for different summer weather.
“We know there are a lot of people talking about it, so we’re hoping for a huge turnout,” she said. “Just come and enjoy the music.”
For more information and vendor registration, visit the Fountain City Lions Club Facebook page.