Published in The Zionsville Times Sentinel

Lincoln Park Concert Series

A child, a parent, a grandparent; all ages participated as they danced and shuffled in a single-file line, weaving in and out of picnic baskets and chairs.  The Lincoln Park Concert Series, a community tradition that has been taking place for nearly a quarter of a century, is officially underway. 

“It’s always been something that people have loved,” said Lynn Manning from the Zionsville Cultural District, which presents the concert series.  “It’s a free concert every Wednesday night at Lincoln Park (in downtown Zionsville.)” The concert starts at 7:30 p.m., with a short intermission and ends at 8:40 p.m.

“We’ve brought back some of the favorite bands from previous years, the crowd-pleasers…with some new twists as well,” explained Lynn.

The series kicked off Wednesday night with Caribbean-inspired music from the local Indiana band, Island Breeze.  With songs from Bob Marley to Margaritaville; two steel drums, a keyboard, a guitar, island hand percussions and talented vocals, the show was a fun and unique way to start off the summer.

Getting the community involved

As a way of getting the community involved, the concert series set up an art contest amongst local Zionsville schools to promote what they think the concert series at Lincoln Park is.

“We got hundreds of entries,” said Lynn “with the majority of our entries coming from the middle schools.” 

The Cultural District Committee narrowed down the entries to a top nine and left the final vote of the top three winners to the public.  Following a community vote, the winners of the Lincoln Park Concert Series Art Contest was announced.

The winning artists were Alexandra Lewis (Grade 6), Joe Luczak (Grade 7), and Emma Spartz (Grade 7). Their artwork will be showcased throughout the summer on all promotional materials for the concert series.

“It was a tough choice, everyone who entered in artwork was terrific,” Lynn said.

Supporting local vendors

You might want to leave the snacks at home, for there will be plenty of food and refreshments offered at each concert.

“We have featured food vendors for each of the concerts,” explained Lynn.  “So different concerts will have different food vendors.”  In addition, a portion of the proceeds goes back to the Zionsville Cultural District.

Inga’s Popcorn was the first vendor of the concert series on Wednesday night. 

“This is a fun atmosphere,” commented Inga, owner of Inga’s Popcorn.  “There are a lot of happy kids and families around here.”

Other vendors to look forward to are: Patrick’s Kitchen & Drinks, Bub’s Burgers, My Sugar Pie, Noah Grant’s Grill House & Oyster Bar, Stone Creek Dining Company, among others.

Whether you’re coming to enjoy the music and let loose with your little ones or coming to just sit back and revel in the friendly atmosphere as the sun goes down; the Lincoln Park Concert Series will certainly not disappoint.

For more information on the concert series; including future bands, vendors and activities, visit the Zionsville’s Lincoln Park Concert Series Facebook event page.