Jeff Peabody
Bayfront
During the annual Bayfront Reggae & World Music Festival at Bayfront Festival Park, Michael Rose with Dubtonic Kru perform from the stage of the Lois Paulucci Music Pavilion in Duluth.
When Steve Martin performed with the Steep Canyon Rangers last summer at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth, he marveled at the surroundings and the view, recalls Dan Russell, executive director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, which manages Bayfront Festival Park.
Standing on the stage of the Lois Paulucci Pavilion, the comedian, actor and musician “just gazed at a 1,000-footer,” a lake freighter cruising under the Aerial Lift Bridge and into the Duluth Harbor, Dan recalls.
The 10-acre park is home to big events like Bayfront Blues Festival and Duluth’s Fourth Fest, and Dan says it’s booked every weekend of the summer and into fall. “The DECC’s goal is to position (Bayfront Festival Park) as the top outdoor performance venue in Minnesota.”
Artists at the Bayfront Reggae & World Music Festival love coming to Duluth, in part because of the park’s beauty, says Janna Dreher, the event’s chief manager. Paying customers, including some visiting from warmer climates, relish the setting, too.
“In July and August, it’s gorgeous here,” Janna says, adding that there’s a sort of “ocean feel” to the waterfront park.
Bayfront Festival Park officially opened July 26, 2001, at a cost of $3.8 million, funded by the city and through donations from Lois and Jeno Paulucci, says Amy Norris, public information coordinator for Duluth. The performance stage and the park’s family center, which opened in January 2004, are named for Lois.
“It’s a destination,” Amy says. People will plan a weekend or use vacation time to attend events there. “The beauty of Bayfront Park is that it’s right on the waterfront. … It’s the sights and sounds and feeling of being on the Lake.”
Bayfront also is home to Playfront Park, Duluth’s largest playground for children of all ages. New equipment was installed in 2010 by the Junior League of Duluth and volunteers. In winter, a warming house shelters ice skaters there.
There’s history, too. Favorite son Bob Dylan paired with Paul Simon to perform there (and Dylan will be back in 2013, with Wilco). Bayfront Blues Festival marks its 25th year in 2013, making festival owner Chris Mackey the longest private user of the park, stretching back to when it was basically a field. Today the festival draws 20,000 people during its three-day run. Its clientele like the location, Chris says, because it’s within walking distance of hotels and restaurants.
“I think that it’s part of the reason for the success of the festival,” says Cyndee Parsons, media relations director for Bayfront Blues. “People enjoy the fact that they can walk from their hotel.”
Bayfront Festival Park events are listed at bayfrontfestivalpark.com.