Down by the Riverside, St. James Infirmary and American Patrol were just a few of the jazz tunes Fort Gordon's Signal Corps Crooked River Dixieland Band played in the final concert of the Evenings in the Appleby Garden series on July 1.
"The series has been really well-attended," said Stacy Winchester, community services/outreach librarian with the East Central Georgia Regional Library. "We've had a great variety of styles of music."
In its 54th season, the six-week concert series featured groups such as Georgia's Three Tenors, the Savannah River Bluegrass Band and the Kari Gaffney Quartet. Concerts were held each Tuesday in the gardens of the Appleby Branch Library on Walton Way.
Average attendance was about 250, according to Ms. Winchester.
"The Three Tenors was the largest crowd," she said. "We had 450."
The July 1 finale was the second-largest crowd with 430 people in attendance.
"It's a wonderful event," she said. "It's free, and everyone is welcome to attend."
Concert patrons brought chairs and blankets and settled on the library's lawn to enjoy the event.
The weather was kind to the program this summer, with rain interrupting only one concert. On that occasion, the band played on the porch and the patrons moved inside the library to view it.
A grant from the Scott B. and Annie P. Appleby Charitable Trust makes the annual series possible, said Ms. Winchester.
Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.
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