Wilmington looking to raise funds for concert series

WILMINGTON | A number of towns and cities across the United States host an outdoor concert series over the spring and summer months, and Wilmington town officials are looking to revitalize their Thursday night concert series at the town beach, but they need your help. The town is now seeking donations and sponsorships to help grow the series, which has been running for about 30 years. "Previously, when Randy Preston was supervisor and also when Roy Holzer was supervisor, the town did fundraise for these concerts, and community members would donate," Supervisor Tim Follos said. "The town's gotten away from asking for donations for the concerts in the past few years, but I'm bringing that tradition back." Currently, the town has $4,500 in occupancy tax budgeted for the series. Follos is hoping to raise an additional $3,000 to $5,000, which will give the town more opportunity to book a few regionally popular acts and broaden the variety of bands. "We're looking to definitely book a lot of bands that have played before and are tried and true," said Follos, referring to returning favorites like Greywolf, Blood Hill Strings, Larry McDonald, and John Geno. "But now we are trying to book some new acts. Also, [over] the past few years, it seems like it's been mostly classic rock acts, so we're hoping to have more Americana, folk, country, etc." Another goal is to increase the number of concerts from its usual eight to 12, which would mean an extra month of this town's summer staple. But to accomplish this, donations and sponsorships are needed. Those interested in sponsoring the event will be recognized in the town's advertising for the summer concert series, both in print through posters around town and online on the town's website. And for those who wish to make a donation, they can do so by making out a check to the Town of Wilmington with "Beach Concerts" in the memo line and either bringing it directly to the town hall or mailing it to the Town of Wilmington, Care of Town Clerk Dawn Stevens, P.O. Box 180, Wilmington, N.Y. "We're going to try to start the series in June, so we're going to see how this fundraising effort goes," Follos said. "There's definitely a large group of people who attend these concerts faithfully, and the more contributions we get, the more we can make it a special event for them." Some seating is available at the Wilmington Town Beach, but attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, picnic blankets, friends, and family to enjoy a variety of live music performances under the summer sky on Lake Everest. For more information or updates, visit townofwilmington.org.

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Wilmington looking to raise funds for concert series

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