Takin’ it Back to the Beach • 20 Years of PARKAPALOOZA

One sure sign Indian Summer is approaching is the DStreet Music Foundation’s annual musical extravaganza known as Parkapalooza, which for two decades now has become an annual tradition drawing fans, families, and patrons to bask in the sun while soaking up an exceptional concoction of top-notch musical entertainment, kid’s activities, sand sculpting contests, a corn-hole tournament, and a huge silent auction -  all converging together in a celebratory swansong to Summer that radiates with civic mindedness and philanthropy throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region.

This year the 20^th Annual Parkapalooza Festival will be returning to Sanford Lake Park on Sunday, September 13^th, with all the action happening on a half mile of lakefront with 1000 feet of soft sandy beach beginning at 11:00 AM and running until 6:00 PM. In addition to presenting this Free musical celebration, Parkapalooza also functions as DStreet’s major annual fundraiser.

Since the inception of the festival DStreet has donated over $60,000 to various local charities, with the principal focus centered upon their Band Wagon program, which takes donated used musical instruments and refurbishes them to allow economically challenged families with talented children to further their musical explorations; along with the DStreet Music Scholarship, which allows talented and musically engaged children to further their education in either college or trade school endeavors.

Thanks to the early endeavors of organizers such as Ed Kerns, David Dauer and Dennis Beson, over the past 20-years Parkapalooza has evolved into the premier end-of-summer celebration throughout the region and is now returning to the place where it all started at Sanford State Park, joining forces this year with new co-sponsors, The Sanford Historical Society.

“I have to admit this year’s celebration means a lot to me, both because it’s our 20^th and the first one back in Sanford in a number of years, which is a rebirth of sorts,” reflects co-founder Ed Kerns. The focus of Parkapalooza has always been family entertainment, and the music and activities are all designed to that end.”

“I remember at the very first festival we had about 200 people there, which isn’t so bad for an inaugural event; and obviously it has grown a lot over the decades,” he recollects. “At the time I worked for the Midland County Parks Department, and we were trying to bring more people into the parks. I’ve been a music guy my whole life, so it made sense to develop the gathering around music. I was playing in the band The Sinclairs at the time so drafted them along with a handful of other regional bands like Sugar Buzz and Hairem and Three Penny Revue.”

“Over the years we’ve had our ups and downs, and of course the biggest problem was when the Sanford Dam broke along with the double whammy of being hit with COVID back in 2020,” notes Ed when asked how the celebration has evolved over the years.  “When it started it was your basic music festival and then we started building it into more of a family event. We added a Climbing Wall for several years, along with the Bounce Houses and we added food trucks and sand sculpture contests, and different events to keep it fresh, which is tough to do with a show that’s been around as long as we’ve been doing it.”

“It feels exciting to be back on the beach this year,” he continues. “The beach looks great and the park is in good shape. The lake level is where it ought to be and this celebration was always designed to go with what Sanford calls their ‘Founder’s Day Weekend, which is sort of an anniversary weekend for the village.”

The Musical Line-Up • Beach Blankets, Buffet & Reggae

This year’s musical line-up ties in nicely with a return to the beach at Sanford Park and consists of an interesting mix.

Kicking things off at 11:00 AM is a group known as Triple Play, which is a 5-pice classic rock & roll band performing hits dating back into the 1960s. “They’ve been around Sanford forever and have wanted to perform at this event, so I’m glad we’re able to feature them,” notes Ed. “They perform fun-in-the-sun kind of music and things you can sing along and dance to, so they’re a perfect group to get the ball rolling.”

Next on the line-up is Coconut Superfreak, featuring Meridian School Band Director Matthew Shephard. “At their core they are a Ska and Reggae band and this group performs nationally all over the country,’ explains Ed. “I’ve never seen them perform around here and I’ve been trying to get them for seven years now. Matt is their guitar player, but they’ve got some members living in Chicago, and Detroit, and a full horn section with musicians from out-of-state. It’s an eight- or nine-piece group and this type of Reggae and Ska music is perfect for this event. Additionally, Matt has won all sorts of music awards and a couple of Grammys, along with Teacher of the Year. He’s a very popular guy and I don’t think anybody I know living in Sanford has had an opportunity to hear his band perform, so they’re very excited about it.”

Once their set finishes Air Margaritaville, which is a Musical Tribute to Jimmy Buffet will take to the stage, which is a popular festival group on the summer circuit; and closing things out will be Bobby Randall and His All-Star Band.  “Bobby is a Country Guy and depending upon how good your memory is, you may recall that he played with the popular country band Sawyer Brown back in the day,” explains Ed. “He lives down in Florida now and has his own thing going down there with a show called Orange Blossom Special. Bobby is a Sanford hometown guy and we thought having him close the show would be a nice way to roll.”

Supporting the Mission of D-Street

Thanks to events like the Silent Auction and sponsorships from Midland Brewing Company, Garber Chevrolet Midland, Meridian Acres, Pats Excavating & Trucking, The Sanford Chamber of Commerce, and other regional businesses, the DStreet Band Wagon program as well as their Scholarship Program has grown steadily over the past two decades.

“We’re always actively looking to make more money to support these programs,” explains Ed, “and we’re giving away one of our thousand-dollar scholarships at the Second Sunday concert here in Sanford. As for the Band Wagon program it’s a rare week when we don’t have a new request for a musical instrument for a new student, along with new instrument donations. Back in 2005 when we began and in the early days we weren’t making a lot of money to give away, but we’ve managed to give away at least one thousand dollar scholarship for a number of years, and for the last 15 years or so we’ve been giving away $3000 scholarships every year, so altogether it’s probably around $60,000 that we’ve awarded to various students, which isn’t bad for an all-volunteer organization.”

“We plan on having at least three major food trucks at this year’s celebration, plus we’ll have a Photo Booth and a Corn Hole Tournament by Breakaway Beggers,” adds Ed. “But without doubt, the biggest help this year has been from our major event co-sponsor, The Sanford Historical Society, who have assisted us tremendously.  DStreet pretty much is producing the show, but most of the financing is from the Historical Society and their sponsors. Because this is a ‘return to Sanford Lake’ celebration, we’ve also received a lot of support. Plus, we have a tremendous stage this year to showcase these larger performing bands.”

“We held this event here at Sanford Park for a number of years and also did it in Midland at The Tridge, as well as at Haithco Park and Haynes Park down the road, but its’ great to be back at the beach!