Nearly 11,000 people joined us throughout Saturday for our 30th anniversary celebration at Reid Park, where good music, good food, and good people reigned. Thanks, Tucson, for a fantastic day that we won't soon forget.
Party in the Park was borne from a simple wish: to give back to the community that has supported Bookmans Entertainment Exchange for over 30 years. Bob had a dream of a free, outdoor concert and we saw that dream become a reality on Sat., Nov. 3, 2007, as nearly 11,000 people joined us throughout the day for our 30th anniversary party in Tucson’s Reid Park.
Arizona (and beyond!) turned out in droves for an all-day celebration of music, food, and good will. Beginning with a set of country rock originals and covers from local mainstay Chuck “Wagon” Maultsby, then moving through a rollicking jump blues set from Portland’s The Insomniacs and Chicago Blues Reunion’s soulful spin on old school blues, the evening culminated in a warm welcome home for Calexico, who were accompanied by long-time collaborators Mariachi Luz de Luna, Salvador Duran, Nick Luca, and other special guests. (You can see attendee videos of Calexico's set here and here.)
See select photos of each band's performance here!
There were giveaways galore, with Bob shooting limited edition Party in the Park t-shirts into the crowd and Bookmans staff passing out coupons, as well as Tucson-based vendors and non-profit booths sharing their goods and information throughout the day.
All in all, it was an exhausting, fulfilling, and amazing day. We’d like to thank our sponsor support, the volunteers from Partnership High School, the vendors, the musicians and crew, Reid Park, Bob and Bookmans’ staff, and all of the guests who showed up to celebrate with us. Thanks for 30 spectacular years!
Photos by Joel Yohn and David Teschner.
From Adrienne Lake, AZNightBuzz.com: "Is Bookman Bob not the kindest man alive? As if it’s not enough that he should offer us discounted books, magazines, CDs, Nintendos, etc., but he also insists on shooting T-shirts at us from a device that could have been found in a secret stockpile of illegal weaponry and throwing a daylong music festival to show his appreciation for 30 years of patronage. And did I mention that it was free?...Would we expect anything less from Bookmans?" (Read the rest.)
From Albert, Bookmans customer: "Tucson should be thanking you right now! To bring such a wonderful band to a local venue for FREE is above and beyond what any of us Tucsonans would have expected. Bookmans represents everything that is right with Tucson, Arizona. Thank you for featuring one of my favorite bands and making this a child-friendly event that my family felt welcome to attend. I know this is a special event, but you should consider doing this more often!"
From "Baby-Daddy," TucsonMama.com: "...the whole crowd loved it, from the babies to the teenagers to the college hipsters to the grandmas. I can only imagine how many amazing Tucson musicians of the future were there in diapers that night. What a wonderful gift from Bookmans to the people of Tucson. Thank you Bookmans, thank you Calexico, thank you Tucson." (Read the rest.)
From Sheila Kressler-Crowley, Bookmans Community Outreach: "As an employee, a customer, and a parent, sneaking away and watching my kid have the time of her life on the jumping castle was the cherry on top."
From Sean Feeney, Bookmans Executive Vice President: "Of course, we were thrilled that so many Tucsonans came out. But what was even more gratifying was how genuinely appreciative everyone was. All night long folks kept telling me how glad they were we put on this event. More than that, they would tell me how much they loved Bookmans and how Bookmans and Tucson were inseparable for them. Wow, that was powerful! And I think everyone there, including the bands, fed on that positive feeling. I think my favorite moment was when Joey Burns said that he was inspired to write the song 'Across the Wire' after reading the book, which he bought at Bookmans. That brings it all back home."
From Betty Kalil Knott, Reading Seed Executive Director: "What a wonderful celebration you held for Bookman’s 30th Anniversary last Saturday! My staff and I enjoyed the great music while we met people and told them about our non-profit, the Reading Seed, Children’s Literacy Program. Many of your party guests showed interest in our program and have offered to help us help children learn to love reading. We signed up several new coaches! Once again Bookmans has made our community a first priority! On behalf of our organization and all the others you help, THANK YOU!"
From Wendy Erica Werden, Bookmans Director of Marketing: "Standing at the right of the stage on Saturday night as Calexico played one of their final songs, it was impressive to look out at the audience and see everyone moving like a big sea of grass, just like the event poster for Party in the Park. Everyone looked happy. It was so satisfying and I remember thinking, 'this is what we've all worked so hard for - and now it is an amazing reality.'"
Check out our Flickr page for an array of photos (hundreds, literally) of the day's events, courtesy of our in-house photographers Joel Yohn and David Teschner. And a special thanks to Pete Gemar, a big Chicago Blues Reunion fan, for sharing his shots as well.
Stay tuned for more photos and video from the big day - and we want your feedback! If you’d like to share your Party in the Park experience, photos, and videos, please pass them along to partyinthepark(at)bookmans.com or post your thoughts in the Bookmans forum. Also, friend us on MySpace!
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