“Each time I attend one of the free open-air concerts in Roosevelt Park every Tuesday through the summer, I look around at all the people gathered there enjoying good music and fresh air, I think, ‘This is America!’,” one faithful audience member said recently.
Starting this week one of the most well-loved series of concerts the summer brings to Devils Lake: Arts in the Park begins.
June Arts in the Park
The very first concert will be held this evening, June 13 on the Elks Galleger Band Shell stage in the heart of Roosevelt Park at 7 p.m. Four teenagers from Starkweather are performing. They call their band “Auto Drive” and they feature classic rock and roll. Bring your favorite lawn chair and a friend (or two). To benefit the Hope Center, the region’s food pantry, you are asked to bring a donation of non-perishable food items and personal care items, too, to go to the people they serve.
You can come right back tomorrow, June 14, for the community celebration of Flag Day, also at 7 p.m. on the Elks Galleger Band Shell stage.
The June 20 Arts in the Park will feature young performer, Herlof Huso, from Aneta, ND, who performs a variety of 60s rock, country and classical music.
The June 27 Arts in the Park features Ron E. Cash, doing his tribute to Johnny Cash. The Sons of Norway Club will be providing a bake sale at this concert, so bring some cash with you if you want some skandinavian treats!
The three Arts in the Park concerts for June were sponsored by the Devils Lake Rotary Club.
July Arts in the Park
July’s concerts are sponsored by the Devils Lake Lions Club and begin July 11 with the Chautauqua Olde Tyme Family Picnic (which begins a little earlier – at 6:30 p.m.) The picnic meal is free for all Unsung Heroes of the Lake Region. There will be an art display and a string quartet performing. Rounding out the evening, the Devils Lake Elks Band will perform, as well.
President Theodore Roosevelt once said about Chautauqua, “It is the most American thing in America.” He was speaking about the Chautauqua movement that began humbly as a way to prepare Sunday School teachers and educators in a summer retreat in 1874. It grew in popularity and scope through the years where adults could hear presented the latest thinking in politics, economics, literature, science and religion.
This was long, long before television or the Internet.
Soon each state had its own official Chautauqua site, like that of the first on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in upstate New York. Devils Lake was the official site for North Dakota.
The spirit of Chautaqua lives on here in the Lake Region although the 4,000 seat auditorium, grand hotel, private railroad and official Chautauqua grounds no longer exist. You will find it every Tuesday evening of the summer in Roosevelt Park in Devils Lake at the Arts in the Park.
The July 18 concert will bring Rick Senger, easy listening music and classic cars on display in the park.
The July 25 concert will feature the Country Cousins performing old-time country music.
August Arts in the Park
August’s concerts are sponsored by the Devils Lake Kiwanis Club.
August 1 the Devils Lake Elks Community Band will hold its “Sit In” and anyone who would like to can step in and play with the pros! Bring your own instrument and enjoy!
August 8 the concert will feature the Lake Region Singers from Spirit Lake, providing Native American drumming, singing and dancing.
August 18 the final Arts in the Park concert for 2023 will be the Devils Lake Orchestra String Quartet.
This very special series is brought to the community by the Devils Lake Park Board, Devils Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as the three sponsoring service clubs.
In the case of inclement weather, the Arts in the Park will move to the KC Club in downtown Devils Lake.
