Center For Cultural Events
Outdoor theater makes summers entertaining
October
6, 2010
BY DAVE
KURTZ
dkurtz@kpcnews.net
AUBURN — In its first two years, the
DeKalb Outdoor Theater has added to the quality of
life in the DeKalb County community.
The theater presented 21 events in its
first season, growing to 30 events for 2010.
In the past summer, a patriotic pops
concert by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic orchestra drew an estimated 2,000 people.
Popular oldies rock group Spike and the Bulldogs attracted an estimated 1,200
fans.
“To me, the attendance is less important
than trying to do the right thing,” said John Chalmers, president of DeKalb
Outdoor Theater Board Inc.
“We have different kinds of events to try
to satisfy the interests of a variety of people,” Chalmers added. “The
feedback has been excellent. We’re very pleased.” The theater does not
charge for admission to its free Friday-night concert series. Instead of
worrying about ticket sales, “We want to contribute to the community,”
Chalmers said.
Community donations paid for building the
theater in a secluded field on the east side of Cedar Creek.
The theater board is giving back through
encouraging community groups to earn money by selling food at concerts or using
the theater for fundraising events.
The United Way and Serenity House are among
the organizations that have staged events at the theater, which can be rented at
low cost.
“We want to grow events to be more than
just a concert or a performance,” said Kent Johnson, vice president of the
theater’s board.
For next year, planning is under way for an
evening of jazz music combined with an art show. Other plans call for a
Sunday-afternoon picnic along with a concert featuring a military band and the
community band.
“We’d like to do much more of that type
of thing, where people come to do multiple things instead of just come down to
see a concert,” Johnson said. “We’d love to have something that might be a
weekend-long festival of some type.”
The DeKalb theater has modeled itself after
similar theaters in the Warsaw and Van Wert, Ohio, communities.
“Our crowd sizes have been a little
stronger than theirs were in the beginning — so it’s very encouraging,”
Johnson said.
“Everybody seems to like the facility and
where it sits,” Johnson added. “People seem to be very excited about it and enjoy it
lot.”
KPC FILE
PHOTO
Three of
the five members of Auburn-based rock band
