‘A really cherished tradition’: Spokane Symphony offers up free Labor Day concerts
The Spokane Symphony’s annual Labor Day concerts are back and with even more focus on community outreach and family fun than ever before.
For over 40 years, the Spokane Symphony has been performing at Comstock Park for free, just as they will continue to do on Monday. They will also carry on a more recent tradition with the addition of a free concert at Liberty Lake Pavillion Park on Saturday.
A plethora of pre-show activities will be available for attendees, who are encouraged to bring their families and friends.
“Every year we try and elevate the experience,” said Kathy Gustafson, the symphony’s director of marketing and communications.
Spokane Symphony performances begin at 6 p.m. both evenings, but an opening neo-soul, R&B performance by Jason Garrett Evans and Ruth Engeda will begin at 4:30. The two will also be performing a surprise song with the symphony later that night.
The Fall Arts Preview will also be available at 4:30, during which local arts organizations share their passions as well as a rundown of events they produce throughout the year. A few organizations include Blue Door Theatre, which will showcase improv actor skills, alongside Gonzaga’s Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center and West Coast Entertainment’s Best of Broadway. The Silver Spurs Youth Folk Dancers will also show off their moves.
“It’s a really fun way to come and see the different things that are happening within Spokane,” Gustafson said.
The interactive Spokane Symphony Instrument Petting Zoo, featuring string instruments and percussion, will be on display and awaiting children curious to learn more about how the instruments work.
Families can also expect well-known local mascots, including those of the Spokane Indians minor-league baseball team and Swoop the Eagle from Eastern Washington University. The newer face of the Spokane Symphony, Figaro the Fox, will also be present and awaiting family pictures.
“It’s just another way to get out in the community in a fun way and celebrate what we do,” Gustafson said. “I’m really excited for the community to meet Figaro. He is awesome.”
The actual concerts act as a free preview of the Spokane Symphony’s upcoming 80th anniversary season, meaning they will feature an array of music from historic classical works to that of movies like Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson’s Batman from 1989.
“It’s a really fun way to bring the family, bring a picnic, have the kids run around, have them experience classical music, have them experience what a live symphonic concert is like,” Gustafson said. “It’s a really cherished tradition.”
Keeping this Spokane tradition free and open to all members of the community is a key aspect of the Labor Day performances and one the symphony takes great pride in. It’s not exactly cheap to produce a full orchestra performance (also featuring two jumbotrons), but remaining active amongst the people of Spokane makes up for it with ease.
“We want the Spokane Symphony to stay accessible,” Gustafson said. “We want to break down the barriers, or maybe even the myth, that a symphony show is not for everyone, that maybe a symphony show is for somebody who’s older or in a different demographic or ‘has money,’ but it’s not like that.”