Help Amy Support the Historic Bandshell!

Why am I fundraising for Friends of Recreation Park Bandshell?

• I'm a volunteer and director with Friends of Recreation Park Bandshell.  
• I was initially inspired to be involved by the beauty of this old City of Long Beach Historic Landmark that needs to be saved.   It's a gorgeous 1929-built Spanish Baroque style building.  But, the Bandshell has this magical way of causing the park to come alive with people connecting with one another as they experience the joy of admission free live music and theater!
• The Bandshell has this rich history, especially going back to the time of the 1933 earthquake when Recreation Park became a tent city filled with people displaced from their homes.  It has hosted classrooms, church services, live music, theater, and so much more!
• As a kid, I remember sitting in the audience shaded by Eucalyptus trees in amongst the benches while I looked up at other children in costume performing on the large stage.  There were beautiful pergolas on either side of the stage.  Sadly, the trees and the pergolas both experienced wood rot and are long gone.  The Bandshell is usable, but it is in a state of disrepair.
• Before 2023 when Friends of Recreation Park Bandshell started Reactivating the Bandshell by hosting events, many people in the community had never attended anything at the Bandshell.  Here was this beautiful amphitheater in a public park that was mostly going unused!
• For 2024, we have already put on 18 out of 20 live events at the Bandshell!  I have enjoyed them all, but especially the Long Beach Bluegrass Festival with over 1,200 bluegrass fans filling the park with music, and the student Battle of the Bands with 39 very talented middle and high school students competing!
• It costs about $80,000 to put on 20 live events in a year at the Bandshell.  We are all volunteers, but we pay performers, fees to the City of Long Beach, marketing costs, and for mundane but important things like portable toilets for large events.   Reactivating the Bandshell and the Park with Events helps encourage the City and the Community in having a stake in preserving it for the future.
• Thank you for your support!