By Terry Asla
Kingston Community News, Columnist
This is going to be a great season for locals and visitors if attendance at the first two events of the summer is any indication. The May 5 opening day of the Farmers Market featured 27 vendors and the May 12 Farmers Market, held in conjunction with Kingston Cove (Almost) Summer Fest, offered five food trucks. Organizers and vendor representatives estimate the May 12 event drew over 2,000 visitors.
And that’s just the beginning.
Here’s a calendar of events that will be taking place in and around the port’s Mike Wallace Park between now and Labor Day:
• Kingston Farmers Market: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays, June 2 to Oct. 27. See kingstonfarm ersmarket.com.
• Fifth annual Kiwanis Brewfest and benefit concert: 5-9 p.m., June 9. Help support Kiwanis youth programs in the Kingston area.
• Kingston Cove summer concerts: 5:30 p.m. beer and wine garden and food vendors open; 6-8 p.m. live music.
July 7 — The Blue Rhinos
July 14 — Danny Vernon
July 21 — Soul Sirens
July 28 — The Relics
Aug. 4 — The Weavils
Aug. 11 — Sister Mercy
Aug. 16 — Cannon & The Lion of Judah
Aug. 25 — Betsy & The Boys
See kingstonchamber.com/calendar.
• Kingston Fourth of July: Over 100 years of celebrating our nation’s birthday makes this one of the oldest continuous celebrations in the USA. kingston4thofjuly.com.
Speaking of the Fourth of July …
Fourth of July holiday lights: Building on the tradition of the Port of Kingston’s Christmas lights, some of the trees and gardens in Mike Wallace Park will be lit for the Fourth. Additionally, there will be an animated light sculpture of fireworks as well as giant bottle rockets.
How green is my park?
These events take place on the 7.5 acres of port property. This includes some 60,000 square feet of manicured lawns, trees, and shrub and flower gardens. It’s all due to the hard work of port staff members Steve von Marenholtz, Joe Krogh, Marvin Robles, Greg Anderson, Austin Goff and Ray Carpenter. “I want the lawn to look like a country club,” said von Marenholtz who maintains the lawn in the main stage area.
In addition to transplanting foliage and growing it from seed, this summer the port has purchased 40 geraniums, 108 petunias, three escalonas, three California lilacs, six yew bushes, 40 box woods and 20 hanging baskets.
Port projects update
At present, the port has three major construction projects underway:
Washington Boulevard Park, the port’s newest park is on schedule to be completed in July. The components for the 24-foot diameter gazebo have arrived; it will be erected once the concrete slab has been poured. The project was funded with a $400,000 grant from the Recreation Conservation Office.
Covered moorage reroofing will be completed in June. The $1.1 million project to redo C, D and E docks began in October 2016. It involved laying over an acre of metal roof and siding as well as replacing many of the wooden rafters, joists and timbers. The final step was to install fall protection systems on the roofs and train port staff on their use.
Remodeling the passenger ferry terminal is progressing well. Besides redoing the roof, windows and siding, plans currently call for upgrading the heating and air-conditioning systems and remodeling the interior.
New slogan
Look for the port’s new tagline “West Sound’s community Port” to begin appearing on port materials and banners. “The port is Kingston’s town square where most of our community gathers for special events or just to enjoy the waterfront green space,” said Jim Pivarnik, the port’s executive director.
