At Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Hands reached up into rainfall, tasty smells wafted from an array of food trucks and music poured forth from the stage as Hope Social Club delivered the first headlining performance of this year’s Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series.<\/p>\n
Though the weather wasn’t exactly compliant with the festivities, attendees were hardly stymied — dancing in the rain, filling the lawn with umbrellas, and celebrating summer in Soldotna.<\/p>\n
Maddy Olsen, executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, said the Soldotna Music Series is a “staple in our community,” something people look forward to every year. She credited the continuing grant support from the Levitt Foundation with allowing the chamber and city to keep putting on the events.<\/p>\n
“The most important thing, to me, is seeing people come together,” Olsen said. “All different backgrounds, ages, it doesn’t matter. We all come together to enjoy the music.”<\/p>\n
Wednesday’s fun began before Hope Social Club or opener Woodrow took the park stage, with a color run that began at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center and followed the Sterling Highway to the park. Roughly 100 runners endured the rain, as well as several color stations that left them awash in orange and purple.<\/p>\n
Olsen said that the weather might have been a deterrent for some but celebrated how many people had still come out for a good time.<\/p>\n
“It’s a testament to our community and to this event, the music series itself,” she said. “It brings people out in the best and worst conditions to come together and enjoy the summer — enjoy what Soldotna’s living room has to offer.”<\/p>\n
Among the runners was Emily Musgrove, an elementary school-aged child from Soldotna. She beamed ear-to-ear even as she crashed through a wave of orange powder, arriving at the park multi-hued.<\/p>\n
Musgrove said after the run that she had fun, that the rain had made the trek a little cold, and that all the color was “exciting.” Her mother said they would be sticking around for the music for as long as they could keep warm.<\/p>\n
The Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series continues through August with performers and lawn activities every Wednesday evening. For more information, find “Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series” on Facebook.<\/p>\n
Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series <\/strong><\/p>\n June 12 — Shake City String Band, opening with Ken Waldman and Josh Krohn<\/p>\n June 19 — Alder Street, opening with Ayden See and The Good Companies<\/p>\n June 26 — Witty Youngman, opening with Sarah Superman with Linda Coles<\/p>\n July 3 — Up a Mountain, opening with Mark ‘n Karn<\/p>\n July 10 — Bunny Swan Band, opening with Mario Carboni<\/p>\n July 17 — Roland Roberts Band, opening with Seth Malone<\/p>\n July 24 — Black Barrel & The Bad Men, opening with Riverfront Gang<\/p>\n July 31 — Boot Juice, opening with Chatham Rabbits<\/p>\n Aug. 7 — Robb Justice Band, opening with Gold Peak<\/p>\n Aug. 14 — Two Crows for Comfort, opening with Jess Clemons<\/p>\n Aug. 21 — Mark Taylor, opening with Curt Hahn<\/p>\n Aug. 28 — Ellie Nelson and the Echoes, opening with Transient Identities<\/p>\n Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net\/peninsulaclarion.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Soldotna Music Series kicks off with celebration under rainfall <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":493,"featured_media":82659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,811],"tags":[215,56,108,85],"class_list":["post-82658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-news","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-local-news","tag-music","tag-soldotna"],"yoast_head":"\n