Bandshell might not be ready for July 4 celebration
Apparently the new bandshell at Greencastle’s Robe-Ann Park is a not-ready-for-prime-time player right now.
It wasn’t ready in time for the opening Parkfest music events this month, and may not be done in time for the annual Fourth of July celebration.
That’s the message Park Director Rod Weinschenk conveyed to Greencastle Park Board members Tuesday night during their rescheduled meeting at Micaela Cancilla Park in the city’s South End.
And it’s not the recent rain that’s been the problem, although Park Board President Tim Trigg was quick to remind the group that it was still snowing in late April when Joe Spiker Excavating started the construction project.
At issue now are the native timbers that were being specially hewn for the Friends of the Park project and are reportedly in the process of being kiln dried by Pingleton Lumber Co. The timbers will then need to be stained and put in position with the limestone columns to create the chosen motif of the new bandshell.
However, there’s another fly in the ointment, Weinschenk said as he told the board the Fourth of July Committee hopes to be able to use the front, concrete riser portion of the new bandshell to stage its entertainment for the annual celebration.
“That’s going to be up to Homeland Security,” Weinschenk said, indicating that the agency’s approval is another reason for a further delay that he said “could see another four weeks.”
Pressed for more information, Weinschenk explained that Homeland Security approval has been the rule for all outdoor performance stages since the tragic incident at the 2011 Indiana State Fair. That’s when the scaffolding of a temporary stage collapsed during a windstorm at the Sugarland concert, killing seven and injuring 58.
The old Robe-Ann Park bandshell itself had become a safety concern.
The original bandshell, which was erected in time for the nation’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976, was razed in February 2017 after the deteriorating condition of the structure was discovered during repair attempts when a workman put his hand through the rotting wooden roof as he leaned onto it for support.