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Date: 6/14/2022
GRANBY – Get those summer snacks, lawn chairs, blankets and bug spray ready as The Friends of Granby’s Elderly, Inc. – a nonprofit organization – invites music lovers to their free summer concert series.
Starting on June 21, Union Jack kicks off the three concerts slated for the summer months with a rain date of June 22.
On July 19, the Dan Kane Singers will perform with a rain date of July 20. On Aug. 16, Johnny and the Flashbacks take the stage with a rain date of Aug. 23.
Concerts will take place at Dufresne Park on Kellogg Street in Granby and start sharply at 6 p.m., running until 7:30 pm.
The concerts are sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural and Arts Council, the Granby Cultural and Arts Council and the Friends of Granby’s Elderly Inc.
Gloria Vivier, activities director with the Friends of Granby’s Elderly, has been involved with organizing the local summer concerts for almost 20 years now.
“Maybe 15 years ago, I would watch what goes on in the area, and say why can’t Granby get involved with these concerts? I finally got enough people to agree with me and reached out to local bands and we started on the Granby common; we got permission from the [Church of Christ Congregational] Church to use the common,” Vivier said. “We used that for a couple of years, but parking was far away or across the street, so after a few years we switched to Dufresne Park which is a beautiful area. There is the nice gazebo, and the pavilion with picnic tables, and a nice parking area,” Vivier said.
Over the years, Vivier started drawing bands such as the Dan Kane Singers and Union Jack and other more well-known bands in the area.
“I loved being involved, especially something that I started, my baby if you will. We have been keeping this going. I will book a year ahead; we send out the contract. We get over 300 attendees for each show, we get a good crowd,” Vivier said. “We put a lot of advertisement out. We only do three shows, but do each one really nice, rather than doing more but smaller concerts.”
Vivier also pointed out that grant money from the Granby Arts Council goes toward the summer concert series.
“People love to get out. Most of the concerts are outside, so people can be spaced out. We run them 6 to 7:30 [p.m.] so the concert ends when there is still daylight,” she said. “People bring their blankets, their snacks, some bring their dogs. We found it wasn’t really necessary to have a snack stand. And the Polish National Bank provides a water station.”