I see here that tomorrow, the Landmark Commission's Fair Park Task Force has but one item on its agenda: putting new row numbers and seat number tags on the wood benches in the Fair Park Band Shell. Which may seem like small progress, but it signifies significant strides in terms of the city's efforts to book shows into the landmark facility of which I am, as noted previously, a big fan.
Daniel Huerta, Fair Park's executive general manager, tells Unfair Park this morning that nothing's definite. He says this is all "very preliminary," and that Fair Park's going to Landmark tomorrow to seek its advice about how to proceed. Because, see, in all the 74 years the 4,500-seating capacity Band Shell's been there, Huerta says, it's "never had numbering."
And Landmark, he says, will have some definite idea about what those tags should look like -- as in, "whether they should be brushed aluminum and what font they should have and what size they should be, those kinds of considerations." If it proves too expensive, Huerta says, they may ditch the plan altogether. Still, the Band Shell has been spruced up in recent months:
Promoter Alfredo Hinojosa, who Park and Rec OK'd in January to start booking shows into the Bandshell,
spent his own money to repaint and refurbish the dressing rooms, Huerta
says. And shows are slowly being booked into the venue, including an
Isley Brothers show on June 18. But I'm confused: I thought 50 Cent is playing the Music Hall, not the Band Shell. (Update at 11:17 a.m.: Huerta says nope, it's at the Band Shell.)
"I think it's working well," Huerta says. "They've done a few shows and have more on the
books. Hopefully it'll remind other event promoters it's there. It gets
challenging in the summer because it gets so hot and there's no
covering. But defninitely spring and early fall, during State Fair time,
it's a great venue."
But, sad news: Huerta says that Glen Campbell gig
scheduled for June 20 appears, at the moment, to be a no-go. Says
Huerta it's been canceled, and, indeed, it doesn't appear on his list
of tour dates. I've called the promoter to confirm.
