By NANCY MARTIN
Kingston Rotarians are getting ready for another busy summer season at the Rotary Beer Garden, held in conjunction with the summer concerts at Mike Wallace Park.
The Rotary Beer Garden and concerts are a Saturday night staple in Kingston — a great place to listen to music and get together with friends in a gorgeous setting.
What’s new for this year? Well, our concerts now have a new name, logo and time. Kingston Cove Summer Concerts will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday evenings with the Rotary Beer Garden opening at 5 p.m. Concerts will end at 8 p.m.
Did you ever wonder how all of this came about? Kingston’s Concerts on the Cove developed from the Kitsap County Parks and Recreation concerts called “Tunes on Tuesday.” The county did not financially support these concerts, but encouraged local businesses to contribute funds in return for posters and publicity. These free concerts were held at Mike Wallace Park at the Port of Kingston, without a stage, on four consecutive Tuesday evenings in August. These concerts ended in 2007, when Kitsap County withdrew from the series, citing the amount of work they entailed.
Kingston’s Concerts on the Cove began in 2008 with five concerts, and has grown to eight free Saturday night events and the Victory Music Festival. The venue was considerably enhanced in 2009 with the performing arts stage built by the Port of Kingston at Mike Wallace Park.
When Tunes on Tuesday ended in 2007, Mike Bookey was manager of the Port of Kingston, and it was with his encouragement that the Events Committee (formerly the Downtown Kingston Association) initiated some free summer concerts.
Mike was also instrumental in getting the performing arts stage built with the support of the Kingston Stakeholders.
The Kingston Chamber of Commerce Events Committee manages Kingston Cove Summer Concerts. These free concerts are made possible by the sponsorship of local businesses and service clubs. Sponsorships for 2014 have been received from Kingston Rotary, Kingston Kiwanis, Kingston Stakeholders, The Point Casino, Cathy Morris Windermere Real Estate, D’Vine Wines, WCE General Contractors, Hill Moving, Sentinel Construction, and Lucky Star Consignment Clothing.
Sponsorships range from $500 to $1,000, and there is still time to become a sponsor of the 2014 summer concert season. Contact Colleen Carey at the Kingston Chamber of Commerce for more information.
Kingston is the only town in Kitsap County that holds its concerts on Saturday nights. This is an advantage, since we are not competing with other community concerts, but a disadvantage since bands charge higher rates for a Saturday night performance.
Kingston families would not be able to enjoy these free concerts without the generosity of the Port of Kingston. The Port offers a great venue for these events, allowing the use of the performing arts stage and the tent.
The tent has been mistakenly referred to as “the Rotary beer tent.” While it is true that Rotary holds a weekly beer garden during the summer in the tent, the tent actually belongs to the Port of Kingston and can be reserved by various community groups.
Recently, Kiwanis held its Food for Kids Summer Concert and Beer Fest in the Port’s tent. Rotary and other community groups help to erect and take down the tent each year to show their appreciation for use of the tent. Contact Dave Malone at the Port of Kingston if you would like to learn more about reserving the tent.
Although Kingston Rotary runs the Beer Garden, it does not book the concerts, nor is it in charge of the food vendors. The Events Committee of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce schedules and pays the bands. Anna Moore of Mi Sueno Catering will be in charge of the food vendors this year.
With all that history behind us, here is the Kingston Cove Concerts schedule for 2014.
- July 5: Victory Music Festival.
- July 12: House of Cards.
- July 19: Blues Counselors.
- July 26: Kitsap Arts and Crafts presents Jeff Kashiwa.
- Aug. 2: Betsy and the Boys.
- Aug. 9: Massy Ferguson.
- Aug. 16: Shane Cobane (Elvis impersonator).
- Aug. 23: Garage Heroes.
- Aug. 30: Iverson Brothers.
