Entertainment planned for Reading Park this summer

  Following a very successful inaugural event last year, the new bandstand in Reading Park, across from the Clarksville Public Library, is set to be the venue for regular entertainment events throughout the summer.
  The Clarksville Visioning committee recently met to work out the schedule. The plan is to hold one event per month, with the exception of June, which is already very busy due to Pioneer Days and the County Fair. All events will be on Sunday evenings, to stay consistent.
  “Our goal all along when we developed the vision for the park and bringing the bandstand back was to have regular music nights, as so many people have great memories of that from when the original band stand was still downtown,” said Jeff Kolb, with the Visioning Committee.
  MADDIE POPPE, a hometown favorite, will kick off the season with a performance on Sunday, May 29, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. This is also Memorial Day weekend.
  Poppe was one of only 70 contestants for NBC's "The Voice" to earn blind auditions at the premiere of Season 10, which aired on Monday, Feb 29. Poppe had tried out in Chicago with some 40,000 people more than a year before, and passed subsequent elimination rounds in Omaha and Los Angeles to reach the premiere.
  “We really wanted her to kick off the season, as our entire community is so proud of her,” Kolb said.
  The Clarksville High School senior is working on an album, "Songs from the Basement." The release date has been moved back, says her website, maddiepoppe.com.
  MOLLIE B and the Jim Busta Polka Band are to perform next at the bandstand, on Sunday, July 10.
  Mollie Busta hosts RFD-TV’s “Mollie B Polka Party,” which airs regularly nationwide. Mollie Busta joined the polka band of her father, Jim Busta, at age 11. Her brother Chad started playing regularly with the Jim Busta Band about age 7. The three have been playing together for a quarter-century. Mollie studied polka while completing her bachelor's at Luther College in Decorah.
  After being rained out at Pioneer Days 2015, Mollie B and the Jim Busta Band performed to a crowd half the size of Clarksville's population late last July.
  “The atmosphere during the Mollie B event last year was just so neat," Kolb said. "I loved seeing all those people there enjoying the night. It was exactly what we had envisioned all along.”
  LOCAL RESIDENTS will have a chance to showcase their talents on Aug. 14, with a talent show type of event. Details will be worked out as the date gets closer, but the plan is to have a show where several local singers and musicians will each have a chance to perform a set. Pre-signup will be required, as there will be a limited number of participants.
  NATIONAL PATRIOTS DAY will be honored on Sunday, Sept. 11, with patriotic music. 2016 is the 15th anniversary of the events of 9/11 in 2001.
  The Visioning Committee will be giving local non-profit groups an opportunity to sell food at each of the entertainment nights. Organizations interested are asked to contact Renae Hempen (Clarksville Lumber) soon, as vendors will be limited.
  Admission to all of the entertainment nights will be free. All that is required is to bring your lawn chair. Free-will donations will be collected at each performance, for those who would like to help cover the costs.
  Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Businesses or individuals interested may contact Jeff Kolb.