Home Page Youth/School Participation Revival Efforts Scholarships
SOME EARLY HISTORY
The Pennypack Park
Festival was a ‘Yes We Can’ grassroots project before ‘Yes We Can’
became a successful political battle cry. It began as an idea hatched in the
imagination of Edward Kelly and Louis Farinella and other activist citizens of
Northeast Philadelphia. Kelly led the grassroots effort to build the
existing bandshell in the 1970s in Pennypack Park near the intersection of Rhawn
Street and Cresco Avenue. “If we build it, they will come,“ said Kelly. This
first summer series was a free weekly evening musical event running from
late Spring to the end of August. It featured well known Big Band acts
such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and various
local stringbands.
The shows regularly attracted large
enthusiastic crowds and was, from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s, a great
success; Northeast Philadelphia’s answer to the Mann Center. But at this
point, in the early 1990s, the original founders could no longer handle the
administrative and logistical tasks of running the festival every year.
Consequently, despite the obvious need, it ceased to exist..
REVIVAL EFFORTS
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In the Winter of 2000, a new group of community activists from almost all walks
of life, including the Police Department, the Water Department and the school
district. They met with founder Ed Kelly at the Country Club Diner on Cottman
Avenue, to put together a plan for a new Summer music festival that would use
the existing band shell.
The original non-profit corporation (P.P.F.,
Inc.) remained in good standing with the Corporate Bureau in Harrisburg and had
maintained its Section 501 © (3) non-profit status with the I.R.S.
By mid-Summer of 2001, the corporation was officially renamed the Pennypack Park
Festival. The City of Philadelphia, led by City Managing Director Ed
Martz, had completely restored the abandoned band shell. The first year, the new
festival was able to put on three small shows featured Jazz, Latin, and Big Band
music.
The current board includes President
Glenn McCurdy, a life-long community activist and communications
professional; MC Steve Hartzel, an anti-drug community outreach
specialist with the Philadelphia Police; Norman Jadczak, a water department
executive who handles both production duties and much of the scheduling for the
concerts; treasurer Joseph Klinke, an accounting executive; Glenn Devitt, an
executive with the Philadelphia School District; Liz Harbison and Jerry Lathrop,
executives with Deer Meadows; and the unstoppable founder of it all, Edward
Kelly who has much to long a resume to fit on these pages.
YOUTH/SCHOOLS PARTICIPATION
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Central to the Festival’s ongoing mission
to promote and develop the musical and other performing arts is a historic
commitment to youth participation. Early on, Ed Kelly took a delegation
from the Festival to meet with School District officials where a long-term
partnership was discussed. The Festival schedules at least two events in late
May devoted to showcasing the excellent talent being developed in our area high
school programs. In the future the Festival hopes to offer internships in
technical and administrative areas such as: stage management, sound and lighting
equipment management, promotion and festival administration, etc. Third,
the Festival encourages students to participate as community service volunteers
for general event duties such as: set-up, clean-up, and customer
service.pedestrian. At present, bike cadets from the Police Academy and their
commanding officer are an important part of security at every concert..
SCHOLARSHIPS.
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Beginning in 2004 the
festival created both scholarship support and a special place on the schedule
for local school music programs. When fundraising permits, the
festival scholarship fund will endow a series of $500.00 scholarships to these
local programs.
FUNDRAISING EFFORTS.
Currently
the Festival consistently seeks grant funding from public and private
foundations, government sources and the private sector. Donations from our
loyal audiences continue to be a critical source of support as we seek to
accomplish some significant goals. We are also looking eventually to
increase the number of scholarships we can award. In addition, the
Festival is seeking future public/private partnerships in a variety of areas
including enhanced lighting at the Festival site and suitable restroom and
changing facilities.