Discovering The Mature Lifestyle Edina’s 49th Art Fair, Schooner Days in Eden Prairie draw big crowds Page 5
Festivals
June 18, 2015
June Issue
Festivals in Plymouth, St. Louis Park depend on longtime volunteers BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Communities like Plymouth and St. Louis Park are fortunate to have longserving hard-working volunteers who are dedicated to producing a yearly summer celebration. Festivals in both cities have been continuous for more than 40 years.
Music in Plymouth. The festival committee meets monthly, and a group of subcommittees do the “in the trenches work,” Willis said. “We’re pretty proud of Music in Plymouth,” she said. After being located at five different sites through the years, the orchestra now plays at the Hilde Performance Center, which was a gift to the city
from former Mayor Al Hilde. Pre-concert entertainment has been added, including fireworks and familytype bands, Willis said. Her interest in the Minnesota Orchestra comes naturally. “Music is my background,” said Willis, who majored in music in college and graduate school, has taught music and piano and used to be a
church musician. Weather is always a concern for the outdoor festival. Three concerts have been completely rained out. “A couple of years ago, it rained at 4 p.m. and then blew through and became a lovely evening,” Willis said. “Last year, they almost got to FESTIVALS - TO PAGE 3
MUSIC IN PLYMOUTH – JULY 1
In 1972, Plymouth Mayor Al Hilde, Jr. and the City Council formed the Plymouth Civic League (PCL), a citizen’s group, to bring a free Minnesota Orchestra concert to Plymouth. Barbara Willis was one of the appointees to the group. “Al Hilde was on the board of the Minnesota Orchestra, and he wanted to bring professional entertainment to the city to have some community event for Plymouth to promote community spirit and pride,” Willis said. “He was quite a forward-thinking young man.” Because the city is bisected by Highways 55 and 494 and serves four different school districts, Hilde wanted to find something that would unify the community, Willis said. Now, more than 40 years later, Willis still is working to help bring about the annual Music in Plymouth celebration. She is president of PCL and chairperson for
Music in Plymouth brings large crowds to the city each summer for a free outdoor performance by the Minnesota Orchestra. (Submitted photo)