ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Earlier this year, members were being sought for a new Liberal Municipal Concert Band, and Friday, the band will be making its official debut.
The Liberal Municipal Concert Band will be making its debut Friday, with the music starting at 7 p.m., and the concert will take place at either the Light Park Pavilion or Maskus Auditorium at Liberal High School depending on the weather conditions. Admission is free, and people will also be able to visit area food trucks Big H Barbecue, C&A's Lemonade, Kozie's Kool Ice, Laura's Kitchen and The Hamburger Place.
Liberal City Manager Scarlette Diseker and band director Andrew Johnson said it was an easy decision to collaborate and bring the group together.
“It was in March when Jeff Parsons came to me with a flyer for an upcoming Garden City Municipal Band concert, and he said he would like to see if Liberal would be able to start something similar,” Diseker said. “He knew I have a background in music and dance and theatre, so he thought it would be worth pursuing. I did some research and thought it would definitely be something worthwhile to put together. I'm a big proponent of the arts, or any kind, and this was something I thought we could do to help contribute to the overall quality of life in the community. I think Liberal has a great amount of offerings to the public, but anytime the city can utilize and show off the parks and get a great group together, I'm there. I don't think we've ever done something like this before, but I know Dodge City and Garden City have municipal bands, and there are multiple individuals in our group who have played with both of those groups in the past.”
“Throughout the whole process, I've been taken aback by how quickly things have come together,” Johnson added. “It started with us talking to a few people and gauging what kind of interest there would be, and then we talked to some people in the City of Liberal leadership, including the city manager, who was very enthusiastic about helping get this started, which was great. It's great to know people at that level so things can maybe move along quicker.”
Johnson and Diseker said they are excited for the band’s debut.
“The group really sounds good, everyone's been working hard and everyone's been really dedicated,” Johnson said. “This is the first community band we've had in Liberal, so it's great to see we're getting off to a good start. I'm really excited to see what the community thinks about everything.”
“I feel like quality of life is very important. We live in a smaller city, and I like to offer some big-city ideas in terms of culture that won't compromise our identity,” Diseker added. “One of the biggest things we in leadership had talked about was finally seeing the Light Park Pavilion being utilized how it's supposed to be. It was intended to be used for performances and similar gatherings, and I know there have been a few events there, but that space hasn't been used to its full potential. I'm excited to see the live band there with a big crowd of individuals and families making an evening of everything that night. Seeing all of that come to fruition and seeing life coming to the park is amazing, because the parks are among Liberal's best features, so whenever we can show them off, that's great. I love to see a good plan come together, and I did a lot of planning when I was teaching dance and cheer because there were always recitals and competitions to prepare for, so I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of turnout we'll have and how many people we can get to the park. Being able to offer this to the community is a big deal for me and for local vendors so they can show off what they're doing as well. It's a full community event where everyone can come together and enjoy this. Being city manager isn't just about watching the budget and fixing issues that come up, it's also about being part of things like this for the community that bring everyone together.”
Ben Hogan, the band’s assistant director, said it has been fun gettting everything together.
“One of the things I've really enjoyed is seeing that mixture of ages and musical abilities in the group because we've got high school students and adult alumni in the group, and it's great seeing that interaction,” Hogan said. “Everyone's learning from each other, and that's really fun to see. It's also great to see the alumni coming back and playing with us, and we've even got a small group of players from Guymon who are part of the group, which is also great because it's going beyond just Liberal.”
Diseker, Johnson and Hogan said they hope to see a large turnout to Friday’s concert.
“I want people to know the concert will be family-friendly. In Liberal, we don't really lack for family-friendly activities, but we can definitely pursue more options and ideas when it comes to that,” Diseker said. “If you're looking for something everyone in the family can attend and enjoy, this is it. We'll have not only the music but also the food trucks out there, so we encourage people to make an evening of it and maybe have a picnic, and Adventure Bay will also have a community night swim that evening. It's a great way to celebrate the summer and have some fun before the big July 4 holiday. Events like this are a very cost-effective way to bring culture to the people of Liberal, and we're always looking for ways to help bring attractiveness to the community and help people make those memories, especially since there aren't as many opportunities for people in this area to go to big concerts and theatrical shows compared to the bigger cities. Anytime we can show off local talent and help bring culture to the community, I'm all about that.”
“I would encourage people to keep an eye on our social media, because that's where we'll announce whether the concert will still be in the park or moved to the high school,” Johnson added. “And if it's still in the park, people are more than welcome to bring their lawn chairs and enjoy the food and drinks that will be available that night. I can't say enough about the group, they showed up at the first rehearsal ready to go, and they've been so enthusiastic about what we've been working on. We're only doing two performances this summer, and we'd love to crank up the dial next summer and possibly do more performances for the community. And we definitely haven't been quiet about it, we've been talking this up for several weeks now.”
“Come and enjoy something we hope to make a new Liberal tradition, because we've been working hard on this, and we want to do this for the community beyond this summer,” Hogan said. “It's been great working with the city, working with them adds some extra legitimacy to everything, and everyone's been great to work with. I'm really excited, I hope the community comes out and shows a lot of support for us, that would be great to see.”
