SUBMITTED BY KAY MACINTOSH | MAIN STREET HISTORIC CHESTERTOWN
Main Street Chestertown will officially launch Chestertown’s new mobile stage on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 29, with a street party featuring the popular band Best Kept Soul. The free event will kick off at noon in the 200 block of High Street, where members of the Town’s Street Department will have set up the stage in public for the first time.
Main Street Chestertown purchased the Stageline 75 mobile stage last year so the Town could provide a safe, professional stage for civic and nonprofit events. The stage unfolds from a trailer and boasts a hydraulically raised roof. Four members of the Chestertown Street Department spent two days with a Stageline trainer last fall learning how to set up, break down and maintain the sophisticated equipment. The public can watch the stage take form Saturday morning between 8 and 11.
During a brief dedication ceremony at noon Main Street will turn ownership of the Stageline75 stage over to the Town and acknowledge major funders. Then Best Kept Soul will take to the stage to deliver its winning mix of Soul, Motown and R&B hits. Main Street Chestertown will sell beer and wine, and volunteers from the independent Tea Party Organizing Committee will provide information about the return of the Tea Party Festival in 2022. The event will end at 3:00 p.m.
The Maryland Heritage Area Authority/Stories of the Chesapeake provided a $54,300 matching grant, and the Robert F. Schumann Foundation provided $35,000. The Town contributed $5,000 and Main Street contributed the final $10,000 to reach the total purchase price, which included a number of key accessories such as safety railings, side panels, expansion wings, and hydraulic stabilizers.
The stage arrived from its manufacturer in Canada in August but the pandemic prevented the kinds of events where it could be used. “We are happy to be able to pull together something fun for a Saturday that would normally be packed with Tea Party booths and revelers,” says Main Street executive director Kay MacIntosh. “And we are thrilled to finally introduce this new Town asset and thank everyone who made it possible.”
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