Petoskey Steel Drum Band concert to highlight Fun Fest

by Richard Lamb–Advance Editor
The Caribbean sounds of the Petoskey Steel Drum Band will again grace the stage of the Lakeside Performance Shell Friday. The band has been coming to Rogers City for at least the past 15 years under the director of Barry Bennett.

Members of the band are high school students in Petoskey and have an extensive tour schedule for the summer. In addition to Rogers City this summer’s engagements included concerts in Shepherd, Holland, Mackinaw City, Pellston, St. Ignace, Bay Harbor and Lake City
Following the concert in Rogers City, the band will play in the National Cherry Festival Parade in Traverse City followed by performances in St. Ignace, the Alpenfest in Gaylord, DeTour Village, Elk Rapids, Mackinaw City, Manistique, Charlevoix, Sault Ste. Marie, Cheboygan, Alanson and concluding the season with an Aug. 18 concert at Petoskey’s Festival on the Bay.
The band combines its unique style of steel-drum classics with new twists on contemporary tunes. The band has cut several albums since forming in 1997 and usually offers them for sale at concert venues.
The concert is part of the Rogers City Area Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Concert Series and part of the annual Fun Fest, sponsored by the chamber. Events at Lakeside Park run from 3-6 p.m. Friday and include children’s bounce houses, game, crafts, T-shirt sale, tattoos, dunk tank and a scavenger hunt. A police car, ambulance and fire truck will be on the grounds to display.
At 8 p.m. at the Rogers City Marina there will be face painting, photos and cookies and at 9:30 p.m. an outdoor movie will be shown at the soccer fields just west of Rogers City High School.