By Bruce Karnick

Thursday September 3rd was the final music in the park for, 2020 and it was a great one! Programming Specialist, Paige Marschall Bigler did a phenomenal job once again at putting together a string of wonderful summer events. Mayor Mary Fasbender even stopped to compliment Paige before enjoying ‘Power of 10’. They also took a few moments to discuss some of the logistics involved with the events. The key piece to hosting an outdoor event is keeping the defined space and the maximum number of people to 250 in that defined space. The city works hard to follow the Stay Safe MN guidelines for outdoor events. Every event posting online explains the 250-person maximum and reminds people to maintain physical distancing. Announcements are also made at the start of the events going over the same guidelines. Paige is also on hand to do a head count and to suggest spots for people to sit as needed. Thankfully, the Rotary Pavilion is surrounded by a vast open area, so when the defined space fills up, there is still plenty of room for music lovers to spread out and enjoy a free outdoor concert. With a band as talented as Power of 10, that space filled quickly and there were a lot of people in the overflow areas as well. A quick estimate, including people spread out in the extra space, put the event just over 300 people.

Who are ‘Power of 10’? They are 10 talented musicians with a mix of Guitars, Brass, Keyboard, Percussion and amazing Vocalists performing a variety of music. From their website; Power of 10 brings you the freshness of Bruno Mars, the passion of Stevie Wonder, the electricity of Michael Jackson and the power of Otis Redding. In addition to being chosen to play at the Republican National Convention in 2008 and 2016, performing with national acts such as REO Speedwagon and Cheap Trick, Power of 10 has: Been nominated several times by the Minnesota Music Academy for Best Live Band. Performed as TD Banks executive house band in Washington, DC in April 2016. Been a finalist in 2009-2011 for Best Live Entertainment in the Annual Best of Minnesota’s Readers’ Choice Award for Minnesota Meeting & Events magazine.

Power of 10 had a clean, crisp sound that was well-blended. The vocalists nailed it song after song and they had the crowd dancing throughout the performance. Looking around the crowd there was a good mix of young and old enjoying another beautiful night along the river with a very entertaining band.

Speaking with Paige about the summer of COVID, she recounted how lucky they have been with the weather. “We have had perfect weather for all of our performances. We keep the last few weeks of September as rain dates to make sure we don’t go into October with outdoor concerts. We’ve been really lucky, not one date was rained out.” Oh, and the residents of Hastings have loved it, but they are not the only ones. Paige continues “I have talked to people from Lakeville, Elko, Bloomington, all over the area. It’s been a great draw from outside of Hastings too.”

2020 has been a crazy year for everyone, but The Music in the Park series was a bright spot for everyone that enjoyed it. It is sad that it is already over, but it sure went out with a bang! There are still plenty of events scheduled for the Rotary Pavilion in September, make sure to check out the Parks and Rec’s events page on the city website, www.hastingsmn. gov Music in the Park is Free to the public and supported by the Ruth and George Doffing Charitable Fund, making the concert series possible for the community and visitors of Hastings