Local News

Shellabration

Collective Soul, Pablo Cruise and Twenty 2 Salute draw around 3,100 to Fort Dodge

As soon as Collective Soul finished its final song Saturday night, Jim Reed and the members of Shellabration, Inc., were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief after the conclusion of yet another summer show.

This year's show, featuring the lineup of Collective Soul with Pablo Cruise and Twenty 2 Salute, returned to the Oleson Park Bandshell for the first time since 2013. That, in itself, offered some familiar challenges and some familiar benefits, according to Reed, president of Shellabration, Inc.

"The bandshell is always going to occupy a special place in our hearts," said Reed. "But there came a time when attendance grew such that it became a practicality standpoint and a safety standpoint that it didn't make sense to be here."

This year's show returned to the bandshell because of the timing of the event, according to Reed. Shellabration can't hold a concert at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex the weekend preceding and the weekend following the state softball tournament, which opens up today.

"The smallness of the venue here adds a little more intimacy," said Reed. "All the improvements here really complemented our event. It was just a beautiful backdrop. It's just historic. You can't be out here and not marvel at the structure and the history behind it."

Shellabration actually began as a way to help fund improvements at the bandshell. For many years, proceeds from the concert helped fund improvements. Eventually the renovations were complete and Shellabration focused on using profits from the performances to help bring in bigger and better acts.

Reed estimated last night's crowd at around 3,100. Official attendance will be finalized in the coming days.

"Our goal of course is to always draw as high attendance as we can," said Reed. "The average for our shows over the years is probably a little north of 6,000. This year was a good fit given the venue change.

"We've seen the word 'amazing' a lot when people talked about the show Saturday night. It's rewarding when we see that kind of response. We put our heart and soul into this as a volunteer organization and with our 13 board members. We're working our back sides off to bring something good to town. It's easy to focus on the negative press at the moment, but it's cool when we can have a positive impact on our community."

Reed said there were some infrastructure challenges with setting up the stage and other areas. Oleson has just one road to get behind the bandshell compared to several roads that can be accessed when setting up at Harlan Rogers.

"We had to be a little more calculated than at Rogers," he said. "It was a little harder to get in and out here. When I came out here the first day of setup, there was nothing out here but a single tent. Then I come back and there's a generator and some more tents. And before you know it, there's this little city that has been built.

"I just have to thank our board and our volunteers and all our sponsors and our community partners with Webster County and the city."

Reed said there's no timetable yet for planning for next year's show, but he's hoping to continue to offer a unique performance for the area.

"As long as people keep buying tickets and keep coming out for our events, I can promise that we will keep working to make it a great experience," he said.