Concerts in the Park permanently moved to Thursdays
– The REC Foundation for the City of Paso Robles announced this week that the 2016 Summer Concerts in the Park and following years will be moved permanently to Thursday evenings.
The 2015 summer concerts were held on Thursday evening on a trial basis. In previous years, the concerts were held on Friday evenings. The foundation compared summer attendance with previous years and collected feedback from merchants and concert attendees. The foundation determined that the programming change was overall beneficial to the community.
“We saw a slight decrease in attendance in this year’s concert series from last year’s attendance but certainly comparable with previous years. ‘Pass the Hat’ donations, wine sales, and sponsorships were satisfactory this year and will allow us to continue our mission to improve our city parks and provide quality recreation programs” says Chairman of the REC Foundation Brandon Medeiros.
The programming change was prompted by a request in Dec. 2014 from many downtown merchants who cited a significant loss of revenue due to the concerts, lack of downtown parking, and general congestion in the downtown area on Friday nights.
The owners of Odyssey World Cafe, John Hawley and Dawn Gregory, say that their Friday night business returned and the move was a success.
The REC Foundation presents the concerts as a community service and has done so for over 10 years. Concert proceeds are used to fund recreation events and enhancements at city parks including Centennial Park, Sherwood Park, and the Downtown City Park.
“Studios on the Park is grateful to the REC Foundation for their decision to continue Concerts in the Park on Thursday nights,” said Executive Director of Studios on the Park Sasha Irving. “Like our downtown neighbors, we were thrilled by the success of the new night and the beneficial impact it had on our summertime attendance. We deeply value the REC Foundation’s efforts to balance their important recreational work and services with the needs of the merchants and restaurants and their patrons,”
The 2016 concert schedule and performers will be available by March 1, 2016 at www.recfoundation.com. For more information and sponsorship opportunities, call (805) 237-3987 or email info@recfoundation.com.
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