“Family Fun at Village Park” has been a Falmouth staple since 2001. Contributed
Bring your lawn chair and get your groove on.
Every other Monday for the next six weeks, Falmouth Parks and Community Programs is offering free concerts from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Village Park Gazebo at 190 Middle Road.
Parks and Community Programs Director Lucky D’Ascanio said this will be the 20th year the town has offered the concert series, after taking a hiatus last summer due to pandemic guidelines prohibiting large crowds.
“The concerts drive typically 125-200 people at one time,” D’Ascanio said.
These performances are for young and old alike with a variety of musical genres. Concert goers are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets and picnics. Donated ice cream sandwiches and bottled water will be provided, she said.
The series opened Monday with the duo Two of a Kind. Rob Babson and Chris Skidgel, who also are members of the Portland-based Time Pilots, tend to play ’50s and ’60s rock and engage older audiences, especially at senior living facilities.
“They don’t mind if we crank it up a little bit,” Babson said about rocking out with senior citizens might not be into swing music and Frank Sinatra.
July 12 will feature the 195th Infantry Band, performing popular music from the ’70s-’90s with patriotic music in the mix.
The Pinetones, July 26, will “celebrate the music of generations.” Tom Walker, who started the group in the early 2000s, said his wife came up with the name for the group to weave together music and the state of Maine. The Pinetones have performed with seven members, but five will probably be playing in Falmouth.
“We play swing and jazz to rock n roll and doo-wop to folk and country music,” Walker said. “It’s a pretty eclectic mix.”
The band plays songs from the 1920s-80s and is “all about having fun,” he said.
Bonnie Edwards and the Practical Cats will play Aug. 9, performing swing, jump, R&B, zydeco and “a splash of jazz,” Edwards said.
Edwards joined the band shortly after it was formed by a group of University of Southern Maine students in the 1980s. After some time without performing, the band got back together in the fall of 2019 and have done a few gigs each year since then, she said.
“It’s good to be able to perform. We are upbeat with a lot of energy,” Edwards said.
Count on their concert to run longer than an hour, she said.
Decisions on whether to relocate or reschedule a concert because of weather will be made by 2 p.m. the day of each show, D’Ascanio said, and that information will be available at the community programs office.
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