P. O. Box 1553, Lancaster, PA 17608-1553
717/735-8883 • info@longspark.org

For further information, please contact
Sue Savage by cell at (717) 413-0560 or
via email at suesavage5@verizon.net.
or access press release, calendar listing
and photos online at www.longspark.org.

Press Information for The 257th Army Band

Download the July 4 Release (1005_Long_July4_Release.pdf) 120K

Download the July 4 Calendar Listing (1005_Long_July4_CalLstg.pdf) 92K

Click on the thumbnails for high resolution photos.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Military Band, Cannons and Fireworks to All Sparkle July 4, 2010 at the Free Long’s Park Patriotic Celebration.

LANCASTER, PA -- Fireworks, cannon and patriotic music will highlight the Independence Day holiday weekend Sunday, July 4, 2010, as The 257th Army Band, Charlie Smithgall’s cannon brigade and fireworks return for the 48th annual Long’s Park Summer Music Series. The free evening of American pride and spirit-lifting family fun will begin at 7:30 pm.

This will mark the third appearance of The 257th Army Band at Long’s Park.

Founding cosponsor of the Long’s Park patriotic concert is the Lancaster Summer Arts Festival. Underwriting assistance was provided by the James Hale Steinman Foundation.

With lineage that traces back to the legendary Corcoran Cadets of 1883, The 257th Army Band is the very DC militia that inspired John Philip Sousa to compose his march of the same name. Now known as “The Band of the Nation’s Capital,” they were the first National Guard band in history to perform at an inaugural ball in January 2009.

Directing The 257th Army Band is Chief Warrant Officer Sheila M. Klotz. She is the first female commander in the history of Army National Guard bands. Returning to Long’s Park as a featured soloist with the band will be Sgt. Vicki Golding, winner of the 2006 Military Idol competition.

The family-friendly Long’s Park patriotic concert regularly draws crowds in excess of 25,000, making it the largest community event of its kind. The evening will climax with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and a 17-cannon explosion by former Lancaster Mayor Charlie Smithgall and his “concussion percussion” team. At dusk a spectacular fireworks display will fill the sky under the watchful, artistic eye of Schaefer Pyrotechnics.

The 48th annual Long’s Park Summer Music Series is produced and underwritten by the Long’s Park Amphitheater Foundation. The 13 weeks of award-winning, live performances are presented free of charge at Long’s Park, thanks to generous sponsors, private donors and proceeds of the Labor Day weekend Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival. Season sponsors are Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and Susquehanna Bank. Season media sponsors are WARM 103 and 96.1 WSOX. Weather sponsor is WGAL-TV News 8. Building sponsor is Wickersham Construction and Engineering, Inc.

Partial funding has been provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency funded by an annual state appropriation and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PCA supplies funding to nonprofit, tax-exempt corporations, a unit of government or a school district with arts programming or services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Long’s Park concertgoers are invited to bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs to the park. A selection of food purveyors will also be in the park, offering a complete meal’s worth of family foods and desserts. Long’s Park is an alcohol-free park.

Long’s Park is conveniently located at 1441 Harrisburg Pike in Lancaster, just off Route 30 across from Park City Center. All events are free of charge and held rain or shine, except in the case of dangerously inclement weather.

Additional information and links to musical previews of Long’s Park’s performers can be found at www.longspark.org or on Facebook. For details on corporate sponsorships of the Long’s Park Summer Music Series and to learn how to make individual and corporate contributions, contact the Long’s Park Amphitheater Foundation at www.longspark.org.