With summer approaching, the Belpre Woman's Club Concerts by the River at Civitan Park will soon begin.
The concerts start Tuesday and will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday through August.
"The concerts are a great social event for the entire city and we have a lot of people who come for the music from out of town," said Brenda Church, with the Belpre Woman's Club.
The concerts began 12 years ago because the club members were tired of seeing the bandstand the club built go to waste, club member JoAnn Holder said. Church said the club likes to appeal to a variety of people by having bands from varying genres perform.
"The club members work hard to bring diversity to the community, whether it is gospel or jazz, we want a lot of different groups to bring new faces into the crowd," she said.
Holder said the group is pleased with how attendance at the concerts has grown over the years.
"In the first year we had 50 to 75 people at each concert, and now we have up to 1,000 people," she said.
While the shows are free for anyone to come, the bands are paid for by Belpre area banks and Kraton Polymers, Holder said. Church said people need to bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on.
As a special treat, the club will have birthday cupcakes available during the June 8 Concert on the River to celebrate the club's 50th anniversary. Cupcakes will be handed out to all who attend the celebration and concert that Tuesday evening.
The club celebrated the half-century mark with a luncheon in March but decided to use the free summer concerts they support as a way to celebrate with the community. The birthday cupcakes will be homemade by the members of the GFWC Belpre Woman's Club, and free bottled water will be distributed to the crowd thanks to Lambert-Tatman Funeral Home.
The Concerts by the River schedule
June 1 - Elvis tribute artist Steve Sams.
June 8 - St. Marys Community Band.
June 15 - Pat Heiserman (variety).
June 22 - Rambling Country Bluegrass.
June 29 - Retroflection (classic rock).
July 6 - River Towne Band (country).
July 13 - Bev and Steve Pottmeyer (variety).
July 20 - Jan Bigger & Co. (variety).
July 27 - Gospel Music Reunion Choir.
Aug. 3 - Valley Voices (variety).
Aug. 10 - MIXX (variety).
Aug. 17 - Plan B (variety).
Aug. 24 - Blackwater Run (gospel/bluegrass).
Aug. 31 - Tall Grass (bluegrass).
