Live Jazz at Eagle Creek Park!

Friday, June 09, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS – Twice the number of shows, longer performances each week, and a brand new concert stage are on tap as Eagle Creek Park prepares to welcome jazz aficionados to the second season of Jazz on the Point, the summer jazz concert series that takes place on Tuesday nights at the Eagle Creek Park Marina. The park is located at 7840 West 56th Street, on Indianapolis’ northwest side.

“Last year’s jazz series exceeded everyone’s expectations,” said Jim Weir, executive director of the Eagle Creek Park Foundation, Inc., the series’ presenter. “We would have been pleased with a hundred or so persons per show. Instead, by the fourth and final performance, more than 500 people were enjoying great music from chairs and blankets on the Point, and eight pontoon boats, all packed with jazz lovers, had docked at the Marina!

“It was obvious to us that the jazz fans wanted more. They spoke, and we listened,” he commented.

This year’s Jazz on the Point consists of eight shows on Tuesdays beginning June 20 and extending through August 15 (no show on July 4). Performances will run 90 minutes, from 7 to 8:30 pm, 30 minutes longer than last year.

Additionally, a new concert stage has been constructed by park staff and volunteers to better facilitate the musicians. The stage also is used for the park’s Wednesday night acoustical music series, In Concert with Nature, which runs through August 16. All concerts are free with regular park admission of $4 per vehicle.

The Jazz on the Point line-up includes:

June 20 – Monika Herzig & Friends with special guest, poet Norbert Krapf June 27 – George Middleton July 11 – The Oliver Nelson, Jr. Quartet July 18 – Gregg Bacon July 25 – The Dan Behringer Trio August 1 – Rob Swaynie of Indy Guitar & Friends August 8 – Rob White August 15 – Ty Causey

Ample free parking is available at the Marina. Guests should bring chairs or blankets. Light refreshments will be available at the Marina concession stand. Guests also are welcome to bring their own food and beverages (reminder: alcoholic beverages are not permitted inside the park).

Jazz on the Point is presented by WYJZ Radio-Smooth Jazz 100.9 FM, the American Dairy Association of Indiana, and the Eagle Creek Park Foundation, a 2000-member not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of one of the nation’s largest municipal parks. Foundation event sponsors include the law firm of Bingham McHale, LLP; the Indianapolis Colts; Goelzer Investment Management, Inc.; City Securities Corp.; Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance; Indianapolis Power & Light; My Favorite Muffin & Bagel Café; National City Bank of Indianapolis; Pedigo Chevrolet; Hautacam Consulting; Schmidt Associates; the law firm of Stewart & Irwin, PC; the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and Indy Parks.

For additional information about Jazz on the Point, call the Eagle Creek Park office at 317/327.7110.

About Ross Reller

I am pleased you have expressed interest in learning more about the historic Traders Point area in Indianapolis, Indiana. From 1980 to 1982 I was employed in the PR department at Conner Prairie Museum in Hamilton County. There I learned about William Conner, an important figure in Indiana's pioneer days. A decade later I became interested in the history of the Traders Point area and was surprised to learn that William Conner had been the first land owner in the area. In 1823 he acquired, through the Federal land office in Brookville, a patent for an 80 acre tract carved by Eagle Creek and an Indian trail that was about to be named the first toll roadway through the township (Lafayette Road). Thirty years later a village took shape within this tract. A grain mill on the creek, houses, churches, stores, restaurants, and two gas stations would take shape here in the creek valley hamlet of Traders Point. By 1962 all improvements (except a farmer's co-op) had been removed by the Indianapolis Flood Control Board to make way for Interstate 65 and a new reservoir. This blog is dedicated to preserving evidence of this historic area but I will occasionally use it to discuss related topics. To activate this follow, simply click the confirm button below. If you don't want to follow, ignore this message and we'll never bother you again. I am also a member of the Old Pleasant Hill Cemetery, a non profit association still selling burial plots for those who would like to spend all eternity in Traders Point, and I am an officer in the Pike Township Historical Society and the Traders Point Association of Neighborhoods.

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