Now that the Alameda County Fair is over for the year, the Fairgrounds is continuing with its year-long programming, which includes the new “Summer Series Under the Stars.” The project, a collaborative effort between the Fairgrounds and the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, aims to highlight a variety of local performers for residents in the Tri-Valley.
“We hope to increase awareness of the performing arts that the Tri-Valley already offers and bring a sense of community spirit,” said Jamie Hyams, president of the Performing Arts Center. “It’s a relatively inexpensive away to get out and experience cultural events.”
The series was scheduled to start last Sunday with a performance by the Pleasanton Community Concert Band, but due to the extreme heat the show had to be cancelled. However, the band still played for its own enjoyment and put on a show for their families who had arrived early with them.
“It would have been beautiful, but I don’t think anyone would choose to be outside that afternoon,” Hyams said.
This Sunday, the series is scheduled to present a “sneak peek” of short movies that will be featured in October’s California Independent Film Festival. Hyams said she checked the forecast, and it is supposed to be a much more bearable 88 degrees. The series will continue through Aug. 13 with weekly events held Sunday evenings. Following this week, comedians from the new Tommy T’s Comedy Club and Voices in Harmony Barbershop Chorus will perform.
The idea to start the series came after April Mitchell, manager of the Fairgrounds public relations department, and Ellen Pensky, marketing manager for the Performing Arts Center, met through the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce Board, which they both sit on. The Performing Arts Center was looking for venues where it could hold performances prior to the Center’s September 2007 opening in downtown Livermore as a way to get the word out and to get people excited about it, Hyams said. The Fairgrounds was excited for the opportunity to be actively involved with a local group, Mitchell said.
“The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center is such a needed organization in our area,” Mitchell said. “Just the fact that we felt we could assist in creating much more of a presence for both the Fairgrounds and the Performing Arts Center made us want to get involved.”
Being involved with the series is a different role for the Fairgrounds, which usually only hosts events, rather than being active in the planning, Mitchell said. Even with this involvement, the Performing Arts Center independently chooses the acts, looking for family-friendly groups and giving first priority to groups that would most likely use the Performing Arts Center when it opens, Hyams said.
All shows start at 7:30 p.m., and attendees are welcome to come between 5-7:30 p.m. when picnic-style dinners are available for purchase. Tickets are available at the Amphitheater entrance and are $12 for adults and $8 for seniors 62 years old or older and youth. Children 7 and younger are free. Visit www.livermoreperformingarts.org to learn more about the series and the Performing Arts Center project.
