Crews clean up Grandview Park after festival
By Bret Hayworth, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, July 07, 2008
Volunteers Logan Fladung of Boy Scout troop 225, Sioux City, and his mother Nanette Fladung pick up garbage during Saturday in the Park at Grandview Park. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
SIOUX CITY -- On Saturday, The BoDeans and ex-Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh rocked out before about 20,000 people in the Grandview Park bandshell.
At the same bandshell Sunday afternoon, Emily Domayer played her violin for eight people.
The contrast at Grandview Park from Saturday to Sunday was pretty stark. While from 15,000 to 20,000 sometimes-rowdy people took in the 18th annual Saturday in the Park free music festival, Domayer, 20, had four friends on the bandshell stage with her, while four younger teens she didn't know sat in the up-front benches to hear her pull the bow across the strings, sans speakers or backing band.
On Saturday, there was snow fence spread out to designate two beer gardens and other areas, while on Sunday the fences were pulled out and rolled up, awaiting pickup.
They were among the few bits of evidence of the SITP festival, along with a couple CAT and Thacker vehicles. When Domayer was entertaining her friends on a spur of the moment, gracing of the stage at 2:40 p.m., Mark Shecket was finishing up his duty of overseeing the cleanup of garbage in the park.
The only other people in the park were three people getting a picture taken behind the bandshell in the rose garden and Joe Burkhart, who was astride his black bicycle to assess the Sunday aftermath. Burkhart said he frequently comes out midday the day after the festival, and his take was that "the stage is broken down a lot better than it has been in the past" by that time.
Burkhart has lived in Sioux City since 1956, and said he's seen all the Saturday in the Park festivals from Year 2 in 1992 on forward. He noted 2008 was a lesser crowd than from recent peak years, but he figured the success of SITP will continue.
He also had a strong opinion on the top SITP performer he's seen. While Burkhart said some people reference B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Brian Setzer, "for my money the guy who put on the best show was Delbert McClinton."
Shecket reported the cleanup went well, with about 60 volunteers working hard from 7:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Sunday. He said they found a lot of items left behind, including keys, T-shirts, wallets and backpacks.
Shecket said the workers "bust hump" to clear things out ASAP, yet the work is fun.
Domayer was with Sioux City friends Michelle Lacy, 17; Jessica Sorgdrager, 18; and brothers Justin Graves, 17; and Skyler Graves, 20. The high-energy bunch had been at SITP from 1 p.m. to the 11 p.m. ending, Sorgdrager explained.
"I was here for socialization. You see people you haven't seen for years," Skyler Graves said.
They were playing basketball Sunday, when Domayer said she'd like to play some violin, an instrument she began learning 11 years ago in fourth grade with "Hot Cross Buns." So the crew went to grab the violin, then figured the bandshell was a good place to let go.
They went over their musical aptitudes.
"I used to play guitar a little bit," Lacy said.
"I can play Guitar Hero pretty good," Skyler Graves said.
Domayer said she wasn't imagining she was on the SITP stage, wishing for a big crowd. Asked what she might play if she had such a large gathering before her, Domayer paused for a while before answering it would be something by Vivaldi.
"It would be cool, if I knew what I was playing," she said.
After Domayer finished a short piece, Graves yelled out to the four kids seated on the benches: "Pretty gangsta, huh?"
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
At the same bandshell Sunday afternoon, Emily Domayer played her violin for eight people.
The contrast at Grandview Park from Saturday to Sunday was pretty stark. While from 15,000 to 20,000 sometimes-rowdy people took in the 18th annual Saturday in the Park free music festival, Domayer, 20, had four friends on the bandshell stage with her, while four younger teens she didn't know sat in the up-front benches to hear her pull the bow across the strings, sans speakers or backing band.
On Saturday, there was snow fence spread out to designate two beer gardens and other areas, while on Sunday the fences were pulled out and rolled up, awaiting pickup.
They were among the few bits of evidence of the SITP festival, along with a couple CAT and Thacker vehicles. When Domayer was entertaining her friends on a spur of the moment, gracing of the stage at 2:40 p.m., Mark Shecket was finishing up his duty of overseeing the cleanup of garbage in the park.
The only other people in the park were three people getting a picture taken behind the bandshell in the rose garden and Joe Burkhart, who was astride his black bicycle to assess the Sunday aftermath. Burkhart said he frequently comes out midday the day after the festival, and his take was that "the stage is broken down a lot better than it has been in the past" by that time.
Burkhart has lived in Sioux City since 1956, and said he's seen all the Saturday in the Park festivals from Year 2 in 1992 on forward. He noted 2008 was a lesser crowd than from recent peak years, but he figured the success of SITP will continue.
He also had a strong opinion on the top SITP performer he's seen. While Burkhart said some people reference B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Brian Setzer, "for my money the guy who put on the best show was Delbert McClinton."
Shecket reported the cleanup went well, with about 60 volunteers working hard from 7:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Sunday. He said they found a lot of items left behind, including keys, T-shirts, wallets and backpacks.
Shecket said the workers "bust hump" to clear things out ASAP, yet the work is fun.
Domayer was with Sioux City friends Michelle Lacy, 17; Jessica Sorgdrager, 18; and brothers Justin Graves, 17; and Skyler Graves, 20. The high-energy bunch had been at SITP from 1 p.m. to the 11 p.m. ending, Sorgdrager explained.
"I was here for socialization. You see people you haven't seen for years," Skyler Graves said.
They were playing basketball Sunday, when Domayer said she'd like to play some violin, an instrument she began learning 11 years ago in fourth grade with "Hot Cross Buns." So the crew went to grab the violin, then figured the bandshell was a good place to let go.
They went over their musical aptitudes.
"I used to play guitar a little bit," Lacy said.
"I can play Guitar Hero pretty good," Skyler Graves said.
Domayer said she wasn't imagining she was on the SITP stage, wishing for a big crowd. Asked what she might play if she had such a large gathering before her, Domayer paused for a while before answering it would be something by Vivaldi.
"It would be cool, if I knew what I was playing," she said.
After Domayer finished a short piece, Graves yelled out to the four kids seated on the benches: "Pretty gangsta, huh?"
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
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what wrote on Jul 7, 2008 7:43 PM: