The Evens at Fort Reno last August. (Photo by Joseph Leonardo
All might not be lost for the Fort Reno summer concert series after all!
A spokesperson from the office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD-08) tells DCist that the National Park Service is planning to meet with Amanda MacKaye—the organizer and concert permit holder of the long-running free outdoor concert series—on Monday to “try and work to find a reasonable solution that everyone agrees with.”
According to Van Hollen’s office, after receiving many complaints from constituents, Van Hollen sent a letter to NPS Congressional Liaison Elaine Hackett’s office, asking her to address and review the matter.
This week should have been the week that the schedule for the cherished summer concert series—which has happened every year since the summer of 1968—was announced, but instead, MacKaye posted a note saying that Fort Reno is going “dark for 2014” because of a dispute with the NPS and U.S. Park Police over regulation changes.
According to MacKaye, USPP told her that Fort Reno would be required to “pay for an officer to be posted on site at each concert” this summer, and that the price would far exceed their budget. After some vague exchanges with the NPS and USPP, MacKaye decided to pull the plug on the summer concert series, while the matter gets sorted out.
Since then, the public response has been overwhelming, with people on Twitter offering to donate money for an officer to be present, as well as a petition to the NPS to allow the series to happen.
Yesterday evening, the NPS finally responded to a request for comment, issuing the following statement:
Today, the National Park Service (NPS) was notified by the permit applicant for the Fort Reno concert series that she intended to postpone the concerts. The United States Park Police (USPP) reached out to the applicant today. The NPS and USPP are reviewing the details of previous permits and previous law enforcement needs related to the concert series. Our primary goal is public safety. Both the NPS and USPP recognize the importance of the concerts to the community and look forward to further discussions with the permit applicant.
A request for comment from MacKaye has yet to be returned, but this little bit of news from Van Hollen’s office at least offers a glimmer of hope. The Washington City Paper reports that Monday’s meeting was brokered by D.C. Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss. More from WCP:
MacKaye confirms that meeting will take place on Monday. It was brokered by D.C. Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss, who was a Fort Reno organizer in the 1980s and early 1990s. Strauss says Park Service officials will be present, and adds, “I’m sure the police will be a part of it.”
Strauss says he’s optimistic that a solution will be reached: “It’s obvious any talks are preliminary, and I appreciate their willingness to work with my office so we can try to keep these concerts going. I would hate to not have concerts at the park for the first time since 1968.” Still, he cautions, “I don’t want to raise to many expectations, but I asked them to sit down, and they agreed to sit down, and I think that’s a positive step.”
