LIMA, OH (WLIO) - A free concert series kicked off for the summer on Thursday night at Lima's new amphitheater.
The Civic Center Foundation's Curtain Call series came back, starting the season off with a performance by The Beer Barrel Boys. The concerts will be held on most Thursday nights this summer. Some will be held at the Pangle Pavilion, and others will be at the patio inside the Civic Center. The Curtain Call series is part of the foundation's goal to give back to the area with accessible entertainment.
"We try to do all things for the entire community, whether it's a big Broadway show or an event like this that we can provide for free for the community. So it's great that we're able to do that. The arts are important, and for people to come out here for free to sit on the beautiful lawn and be entertained is really important to us," explained Abe Ambroza, the CEO of the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center.
Local businessman and vocalist of The Beer Barrel Boys, John Heaphy, made a surprise announcement during the show, pausing to announce the induction of Charles "The Raven" Thomas, Jerry "Pickle" Felter, and Chuck Summers into the new Greater Lima Music Hall of Fame.
"I think it's important for the city of Lima that we recognize and give room to all genres of music, and this is a good start right here. Lima kind of doesn't diversify enough when it comes to music in the community, so I'm hoping that this will be a springboard to something new," said Charles "The Raven" Thomas, a former radio personality who was inducted for his contributions to bringing jazz to the area.
The Hall of Fame's location has not yet been decided. The next Curtain Call, featuring Chris Brokamp, will be at the Civic Center on June 13th at 6pm.
