SPRINGFIELD — The Summer Arts Festival is officially under way.
Here are three more solid bets to check out between now and next week, rain or shine, in Veterans Park:
Saturday, June 20
Youngstown native Maureen McGovern returns to Springfield at 8 p.m.
McGovern debuted on Broadway back in 1981 in “The Pirates of Penzance.” She returned to Broadway in 2005 for the first time in a decade in “Little Women.”
But if you were alive and going to the movies back in the ’70s (or just watch lots of cable), you know her voice — she did the themes to the disaster classics “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno.” (She appeared on-screen in “The Towering Inferno” and, later, as the singing nun in “Airplane!”)
Her most recent album, “A Long and Winding Road,” features classy covers of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and Beatles tunes (among others).
Sunday, June 21
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra technically started the festival 43 years ago, so it’s only fair that the SSO still gets a slot.
At 8 p.m., maestro Peter Stafford Wilson will lead the orchestra through the following program:
Mendelssohn, “Hebrides Overture”
Debussy, “Petite Suite”
Bizet, “Carmen Suite No. 1”
Beethoven, “Egmont Overture”
Grieg, “Norwegian Dances, Op. 35”
Tchaikovsky, “Marche Slave”
Wednesday, June 24
The Eagles tribute band Hotel California plays the park at 8 p.m.
Does this really warrant further explanation?
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.
