Rich Kriegsman has been playing in the Pekin Park Concert Band for almost 60 years, and he’s eager to have a new permanent venue for their shows in Mineral Springs Park.
“We had a portable ‘show-mobile’ trailer that opened up, and that lived about a 47-year life and it died a natural death,” Kriegsman said. “So then we move to the porch (of the pavilion building), and then COVID came along, so then we moved to the grass so we could be spaced appropriately.”
Kriegsman joined several Pekin community leaders Thursday morning at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Steven D. Skinner Performing Arts Venue that will be built at the base of the hillside just north of the parking lot between Pavilion Road and Coal Car Drive.
He said in addition to the Concert Band’s regular Sunday concerts, the new venue will be able to host a variety of events and performances.
“The only thing that limits you is imagination,” Kriegsman said. “It can be weddings, it could be theatrical events. It could be movies in the park. It could be all kinds of opportunities, so that's the motive for the whole thing.”
Kriegsman led an 18-member fundraising committee for the project. He said they’ve received around $800,000 toward their $1.2 million target.
The venue will feature a 45-foot-wide by 40-foot-deep elevated, open-air stage with an overhead shelter. The stage will face east so the park’s lagoon and pavilion building can serve as a backdrop.
Pekin Park District Executive Director Cameron Bettin said construction is expected to begin this month, and ideally they’d hope to have the venue open in time for the annual Marigold Festival in August.
“That’s still possible, I guess. But in case it's not, it will be under construction and up and people will be able to see it,” said Bettin, noting that the band shell structure has been ordered and should arrive in about 12 weeks.
“We're really excited about it. It will definitely be in full swing next year, and not just for the Pekin Concert Band but with other groups: Friends in Harmony, other performing arts groups, concerts. We're looking forward to having this being used Monday through Sunday. We want to see it getting used a lot by the community and bringing in outside groups as well.”
Kriegsman said the idea to build a band stage and shelter in the park dates back about 40 years, but really gained momentum about a decade ago. He said they wanted to do something along the lines of how Morton developed the Phil and Barbara Kuhl Arts Pavilion.
“We took that model to the park district, just when Cameron was first here, trying to come up with a plan to maybe do something similar in Pekin. But the park district board at that time wasn't so receptive to the notion,” Kriegsman said. “So we were kind of biding our time for a while, and then about two years ago we went back to them and got thumbs up from the park district board first, and then the park district foundation.”
Mayor Mary Burress said the venue will benefit the entire community, and the timing for the long-sought project ultimately worked out well.
“They have been actually working years on this, but the last two years very hard. So to make it happen in our bicentennial year, we couldn't have asked for better,” Burress said. “We have caring people that believe in our community and want to see it prosper and grow, and that's what every community wants. Pekin is growing, and this was much needed.”
Plans call for deep stairs spanning the front width of the stage, and a masonry building behind the stage to house electrical and audio/visual equipment as well as storage space. The shelter roof will be tapered to direct sound outward.
Accessible ramps will flank both sides of the stage, and an accessible concrete sidewalk will be built between the parking lot and the shelter.
The groundbreaking ceremony included presentation of two corporate donations, with CEFCU giving $25,000 and Busey Bank contributing $10,000.
Skinner, the long-time director of the Pekin Park Concert Band, was among those in attendance Thursday.
“I started playing in the band years ago, maybe 1969 or so. Then in 1992, the band director announced that he was leaving just two weeks before the season was to start – and they asked me if I could fill in for a while,” Skinner said. “So this year will be my 32nd year of filling in. It's really been a privilege to work with some fine musicians and they make me look good.”
Skinner said he was surprised to learn that the facility would bear his name at the behest of an anonymous donor.
“I was on a committee to try to get this thing built, and I never dreamed that it would end up being named in honor of me,” he said. “It's just extremely humbling; I'm not sure I’ve quite caught that yet.”
