Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park announces summer concert line-up
By Ashley Shah
The Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park organization is a non-profit group that produces free concerts on the second Sunday of each month from June to September for the community of Scripps Ranch. Each concert is sponsored by a local business.
The first concert this summer is set for June 9 and will feature Back to the Garden.
“The concert will be sponsored by The Glen, a senior living community in Scripps Ranch. The band will be featuring their ‘California Dreaming’ show,” Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park President Rachel Votel said.
The second concert will feature DSB on July 14. The band is a tribute to Journey and the show will be sponsored by U.S. Bank.
The Heroes will be performing on Aug. 11, sponsored by Collins Family Jewelers.
The final show of the summer will feature Full Strength on Sept. 8.
“The band will be performing funk, and current hits,” Votel said. “The last show will be sponsored by San Diego Castles Realty.”
The free concerts begin at 6 p.m.
“We always start with a warm-up act. Sometimes that means that a local band is performing. Other times, scholarships are presented for students by the Old Pros organization,” speaker and board member Steve Fiorina said.
“We also donate money to the music programs at local schools from the donation drives that we do at the beginning of the year,” Votel said.
The main scheduled bands perform until 7:30 p.m.
“We have a lot of variety in the bands that perform. In the past, we have had military bands, church bands and more,” Fiorina said. “Most of our bands end up playing some sort of rock-and-roll. Some of the bands have a twist of country. Even though the genre of music is relatively consistent, they play music from different eras. There is music from the ’60s all the way to now.”
There are around 1,500 members of the community that come out for the concerts for each Sunday performance.
“We have a lot of members of the community come out because of the wide range of music played. The Glen actually brings some of the members of their residential community to the concert by a bus so that they can enjoy it as well,” Fiorina said.
Many members of the community come out during the day to have picnics at the park, and then stay for the concert.
“It is a community event. Everyone is very respectful of each other. People bring low-back chairs so that those behind them can see. People bring cloth blankets because tarps hurt the grass. Everyone cleans up their trash,” Fiorina said.
Next year will be 40 years since the organization was formed.
“When the organization was formed, the whole goal was to get people together. The mission of the organization hasn’t changed, and we have been doing a great job of achieving our goal,” Votel said. “You may not know the people you are sitting next to, but by the end of the concert you will. There are a lot of connections that happen. Within just a couple of minutes of the band playing, there are already people up and dancing together.”
For more information as well as details on how to contribute to the organization, visit symphonyinthepark.org.
“We can’t wait for people to come out this year,” Fiorina said. “Your blanket is your ticket!”