Summer evenings in the Mt. Vernon area will be enlivened by three exciting free concert series being presented in area parks and in venues along the Potomac River.  MT. VERNON NIGHTS , the summer concert series in Grist Mill Park, kicks off their Friday night concert series with a June 4 jazz/blues and R&B concert by the Sandra Y. Johnson Quintet at 7:30 p.m.  The Sunday evening FORT HUNT SUMMER CONCERT SERIES begins that same weekend, on Sunday, June 6, with an evening of big band and swing music by the Mount Vernon Swing Band from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Fort Hunt Park.

The MT. VERNON NIGHTS concert series has free performances scheduled for each Friday night throughout June, July and August, in Grist Mill Park.  The series presents a wide selection of musical acts including blues, rock, Latin/Caribbean, jazz, bluegrass, Dixieland, and Ska.  The Friday night concerts are at 7:30 p.m. in Grist Mill Park, at 4710 Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway, in Alexandria.  MT. VERNON NIGHTS is a part of the Fairfax County Park Authority 2010 Summer Entertainment Series and is made possible through the efforts of Mt. Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland, friends of Mt. Vernon Nights, and the generous support of local businesses and corporations.   For more information on Mt. Vernon Nights, go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/performances or call 703-324-SHOW(7469) for updates, and for weather cancellations after 6:00 on performance dates.

The FORT HUNT SUMMER CONCERT SERIES will feature free concerts in Fort Hunt Park every Sunday evening throughout June, July and August (except Sunday, July 4), from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.  This series will feature bands performing in a wide range of musical styles from swing to indie rock, from Peruvian/Andean to German Oktoberfest, in addition to the performances of brass, concert and community bands.  Also on the schedule, are two evenings of songs performed in barbershop-style, four-part harmonies, by two large local choral groups.  Concerts are held in Pavilion A of Fort Hunt Park, a site of the National Park Service, which is located approximately 6 miles south of Old Town Alexandria along the George Washington Memorial Parkway.   The FORT HUNT SUMMER CONCERT SERIES has been organized by the Mount Vernon Community Bands and the National Park Service.   For more information, or for weather cancellations on performance dates, go to www.nps.gov/gwmp, select “QUICKLINKS:  News and Fun Things To Do!”, click on “Visit this site for Parkway Events and Programs”, and select “Ft. Hunt Concert Series” from the menu on the left.

In September, the final free concert series will be held at COLLINGWOOD, a beautiful estate overlooking the Potomac River.  The series will take place Sunday afternoons, rain or shine, from September 12 through October 3, with performances including Dixieland jazz and indie rock.  The final concert of the summer season will be provided by the Falls Church Concert Band on October 3.  Performances are from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Collingwood, which is 4.3 miles south of Old Town Alexandria, off the George Washington Memorial Parkway, at 8301 East Boulevard Drive.  Go to www.collingwoodlibrary.com  or call Judie Kunkle at Collingwood at 703-765-1652, for more updated information on this concert series.

Dust off your picnic baskets, pack your favorite blanket and lawn chair, and enjoy a wonderful array of outdoor live music along the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway and at Grist Mill Park.

The three summer concert series schedules are as follows:

MT. VERNON NIGHTS 2010 PROGRAM IN GRIST MILL PARK – Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

June 4 – Sandra Y. Johnson Quintet (Jazz/Blues/R&B)

June 11 – Doug Parks and the Lonewolves (Blues/classic Rock)

June 18 – Justin Trawick (Urban Folk Rock)

June 25 – Mambo Combo (Latin/Caribbean)

July 2 – The English Channel (British music from the 60’s & 70’s)

July 9 – Pietasters (Ska)

July 16 – The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra’s Dixieland Band (Dixieland)

July 23 – Janine Wilson Band (Roots/Rock)

July 30 – The Reunion Music Society Jazz Orchestra (Jazz)

August 6 – Yarawi (Andean)

August 13 – Honor By August (Rock/Pop)

August 20 – Squeeze Bayou (Cajun)

August 27 – Andrew Acosta & Speedy Tolliver String Band (Folk/Bluegrass)

FORT HUNT SUMMER CONCERT SERIES 2010 – Sundays, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

June 6 – Mount Vernon Swing Band (Swing and Big Band)

June 13 – Lesson Zero (New Adult Contemporary Indie Rock/Blues)

June 20 – Falls Church Concert Band (Marches, Light Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics)

June 27 – Vienna Community Band (Marches, Light Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics)

July 4 – NO CONCERT

July 11 – Kings Park Brass Ensemble (All Brass Classical, Popular, Jazz, Swing)

July 18 – Harmony Heritage Singers (Men’s Four Part Harmony Barbershop Style Chorus)

July 25 – Main Street Community Band (Marches, Light Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics)

August 1 – Potomac Harmony Chorus (Award-Winning Women’s Four-Part Harmony Show Chorus)

August 8 – Mystic Warriors (Fusion/New Age Peruvian/Andean)

August 15 – Mount Vernon Concert Band (Marches, Light Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics)

August 22 – Alte Kameraden (German Festmusik)

August 29 – Kings Park Concert Band (Marches, Light Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics)

COLLINGWOOD CONCERTS – Sundays, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

September 12 – Alexandria Citizen's Band (Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics, Jazz)

September 19 - Lesson Zero (New Adult Contemporty Indie Rock/Blues)

September 26 - Cosine (Progressive Jazz - Fusion, Rock, R&B)

October 3 - Falls Church Concert Band (Marches, Classical, Show Medleys, American Classics)



For more information, please contact the following (these e-mails and numbers are not for publication, but for media outlet usage only, to arrange interviews, obtain photographs, and ask for further details):

Owen Hammett, Manager, Mount Vernon Bands; Director, Mount Vernon Swing Band
Cell – 703-401-1394, owenhammett@cox.net

Jane Brewster, Public Relations, Mount Vernon Bands
Office – 703-799-2125, ideawoman@aol.com

Jesse Reynolds, Supervisory Ranger, National Park Service, George Washington Memorial Parkway
Office – 703-289-2552, jesse_reynolds@nps.gov

Judie Kunkle, Collingwood Library
Office – 703-765-1652, eventmanager@clma.us

Gerry Hyland, Mt. Vernon District Supervisor, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Office – 703-780-7518

Fairfax County Park Authority, Summer Concert Hotline – 703-324-7469, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/performances