What will the summer jazz season look like without the City Park bandshell?
DENVER — City Park Jazz board member David Flomberg was among the first people to hear about the City Park bandshell fire. During a 5 a.m. stroll through the park March 26, one of Flomberg’s colleagues came across a growing police presence around the nearly 100-year-old structure.
Flomberg received a devastating text: the home of City Park Jazz was now in ruins.
“It was shocking,” Flomberg said. “There would be time for emotion later, but we immediately jumped into ‘what do we need to do to fix this’ mode.”
With the 40th year of Jazz in the Park set to kick off in early June, the team at City Park Jazz, (the nonprofit that hosts the event, needed to come up with a new stage for the 10-week season. Since the festival’s inception in 1986, the bandshell has served as the centerpiece of the free concert series.
In true “the show must go on” fashion, City Park Jazz put out a call for community donations to fund the rental of a temporary stage for the summer. Two weeks after the fire, the nonprofit has already raised $10,000 of its $30,000 goal.
“What I’ve witnessed since the fire is a resolute community showing up in a time of need,” Flomberg said. “It’s going to be a different experience this year, but it makes my heart swell seeing how generous people are.”
The fire started around 2:30 a.m., . The mostly wooden structure was engulfed in flames by the time the Denver Fire Department arrived, leaving the pillars and roof severely damaged. Officials have not released an official cause of the fire.
Organizers knew losing the bandshell would be a massive hit to the community, as well as a ding to the financial and logistical aspects of the 10-week concert season. There’s also the historical significance of the bandshell, serving as a Denver cultural landmark since 1929. From officiating weddings to acting as emcee for concerts, Flomberg has dozens of memories of his own at the bandshell.
“The bandshell is a building, but even more importantly it’s a symbol,” Flomberg said. “It reflects the history of performing arts here in Colorado and is extremely important in terms of accessibility.”
City Park Jazz is working with local production company Mighty Fine Productions to secure the mobile stage. Owner Colin Bricker has worked as a sound engineer for Jazz in the Park since 1997 and jumped into action when the need for a stage arose. In addition to upfront cost of the stage, organizers also have to consider a generator for the first time (the bandshell had electricity), as well as allowing time to set up and tear down the stage after each performance.
The stage will be set up in the same general area as the bandshell, but organizers are still confirming the exact location.
“I believe we’ll be able to hit our goal of covering all the additional expenses,” Bricker said. “Once the word spreads about how to help us save this event, I truly believe our audience will show up for us.”
The 24-foot-wide stage folds out from a trailer and is similar to one you may have seen at a street fair or other park concerts. Flomberg said the nonprofit didn’t want to cheap out and prioritized renting a quality stage. He is thrilled that the community is willing to contribute to that expense.
Flomberg said that if the $30,000 fundraising goal isn’t hit, City Park Jazz will make up for the shortfall by dipping into its financial reserves. The nonprofit hopes to avoid that move but knows getting through this season isn’t its only hurdle — Flomberg isn’t even sure the bandshell will be done by summer 2027.
“I would be very surprised if the bandshell is repaired any time soon, so we’re just needing to think ahead,” Flomberg said. “We hope to avoid using those reserve funds this season, but the actual repairs of the bandshell will be a city-led project.”
The future of the bandshell itself lies in the hands of Denver Parks and Recreation. City Park Jazz operates as a nonprofit independently from the City of Denver, so while they can fundraise for the temporary stage, the repairs to the actual structure are out of their hands.
According to Denver Parks and Recreation, the city has no current plan in place for the rebuild and are still assessing the damage and financial implications.
If you’d like to contribute to the fundraiser, you can do so here.
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