12th Annual Sanford Parkapalooza

Offering a Swan-Song to Summer with Top-Notch Music, Family Activities & Cultural Reinvestment in the Region

    icon Aug 11, 2016
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The 12th Annual Sanford Lake Park Parkapaloopza Festival is our musical swansong to Summer and one of our region’s most celebrated gatherings, largely because it allows fans, friends, and families an opportunity to bask in the sun and soak up a bountiful array of activities and top-notch musical nourishment on a half-mile of lakefront with 1000 feet of soft sandy beach.

Happening this year on Sunday, September 11th from Noon to 9 PM at Midland County’s Sanford Lake Park, 415 Irish Street, park admission is only $6.00 per car, which goes to the Midland County Parks, while the concert and most activities are free.

This year’s band line-up consists of Night Shift, The Laurie Middlebrook Band, The Hidden, Marsupial Creampie, The Sinclairs, Avenue 5, The Matt Ryan Band, and The Hipakritz.  Activities include a beach volleyball tournament, sand sculpting, a ‘make & take’ woodcrafts set-up courtesy of Home Depot, a Silent Auction, food vendors and much more.  Beer and wine is allowed and sponsors of the festival, which was voted Best Outdoor Festival at this year’s 30th Annual Review Music Awards, include Chemical Bank, Park Place Homes and Preferred Chiropractic.

Presented by the Dstreet Entertainment Foundation, which since the inception of the festival has donated well over $10,000 to various local charities; the principle focus of the organization is centered upon two major programs: The Band Wagon, which takes donated used musical instruments and refurbishes them to allow economically challenged families with talented children  to further their musical explorations; and the  Dstreet Musical Scholarship program, which allows talented and musically engaged children to further their education in either college or trade school endeavors.

According to Dstreet President Amanda Christian, “One of the major characteristics that separate Parkapolooza from other musical events in the area is the strong reputation we have built to keep this event family friendly. We are a non-profit organization focused on the positive impact music can make in a community. We are committed to serve our community by banding together for the good of all.”

In addition to the musical line-up, a couple of new features are being incorporated into this year’s celebration. “Make sure to enter the sandcastle building contest sponsored by Chemical Bank, visit the build a craft tent brought to you by Home Depot, take your chances of winning big in the silent auction tent, and NEW this year we hope to see people register to be part of the Volley Ball tournament!” she enthuses.

“Dstreet is extremely lucky to work with the fantastic staff at Sanford Lake Park, which is a beautiful back drop for this event and the employees are top notch. We are consistently blown away with the dedication and pride they present through the entire process,” she adds.

In terms of challenges, Amanda notes how each year establishing the band line-up becomes increasingly difficult. “In the last few years, we have been overwhelmingly surprised at the number of bands contacting us to be part of the event. This year alone we had over 20 bands requesting to be chosen. The support of the bands is truly amazing, They volunteer their time to spend the entire day with us. The band selection process begins early in the year. We are looking for bands that have a wide appeal, family friendly, and are true professionals. This year whittling 20 bands down to 8 was probably one of the toughest decisions we had to make. All of the bands chosen have a variety of styles and a tremendous amount of talent. Dstreet is extremely proud to be able to showcase our local musicians in an event that will show attendance of over 5,000 people.”

However, an even bigger challenge involves educating the community of the true meaning behind Dstreet and Parkapalooza. “This event is our largest fundraiser of the year,” she reflects. “Yes, we know it is one fantastic beach party, but the true meaning behind this event is to raise money to support our Scholarship and Bandwagon programs. Dstreet is dedicated to assisting youth in our community. The Bandwagon program supplies instruments to students who may not be able to otherwise afford the high costs of an instrument. The Scholarship program assists youth attend a fine arts camp, skilled trade school, or first year college education. Students must be musically focused, complete on online application and provide an essay.”

For more information about the 12th Annual Sanford Parkapalooza and Dstreet please visit www.Dstreet.org

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