Editor's pick: Music interludes in the great outdoors

Barbershop quartet to open Honesdale’s summer of music in the park

WHEN: Mondays and Thursdays through Thursday, July 30, starting on Monday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. Independence Day celebration on July 3 at 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Central Park, Honesdale, PA.

COST: Free.

HONESDALE, PA — Every summer since 1967, the cultural life of Honesdale has been enriched by a festival of free performances in Central Park, sponsored by the Wayne County Creative Arts Council. This year’s season is set to kick off this coming week.

The inaugural event, on Monday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m., will feature one of Honesdale’s local treasures, The Northeasters Barbershop Chorus. The group has kept the barbershop tradition going for 41 years in Honesdale, and is the local chapter of SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Singing in America). Directed by Robert Mains, its annual concert themes range from circus music to Broadway hits, with dashes of jaunty humor.

On Thursday, June 19, Slatts Rattler will play rock ‘n roll tunes of such popular groups as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and Deep Purple, and some of its own tunes as well. Among the other entertainment on the summer calendar are the Wayne Choralaires, bluegrass group Oxford Depot, country music from Hickory Rose Monday, and Doug Smith and the Dixieland All Stars.

The centerpiece of the series is the Independence Day celebration, which will take place on Thursday, July 3 this year, and will start at 5:00 p.m. In addition to musical entertainment by three groups, it will include old-fashioned games for kids, hot dogs, ice cream and a grand finale in the form of the Greater Honesdale Partnership’s fireworks display at dusk.