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Salina hosts concert as the first event on new downtown stage

Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
·2 min read
Taylor Kline, left, performed for the first event at the new downtown Salina stage at the corner of Ash Street and Santa Fe Avenue.
Taylor Kline, left, performed for the first event at the new downtown Salina stage at the corner of Ash Street and Santa Fe Avenue.

The City of Salina christened the new downtown stage at the corner of Ash Street and Santa Fe Avenue with a concert Friday.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday evening Anna Pausher Morawitz of Salina Arts and Humanities thanked the crowd that gathered for the new stage celebration. Musician Taylor Kline performed. Morawitz thanked the people and organizations who made this new event space possible.

"The City of Salina staff and contractors made this stage happen on a quick timeline," she said.

The overhead structure of the stage was, until October of 2021, located in Campbell Plaza, a few blocks south of where the stage lies now. Since that time, work on the stage has progressed to this point, with all of the work nearly completed.

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Dave Loewenstein, right, is the lead artist for the mural that is on the back wall of the new stage in downtown Salina. Loewenstein was joined by Salinan and mural assistant Karla Prickett, middle and a local boy, as they all three painted during the celebration event for the opening of the stage located at the corner of Ash Street and Santa Fe Avenue.

Before and during Kline's performance, Dave Loewenstein, an artist from Lawrence, along with assistant and Salinan Karla Prickett, were busy working on the mural that is on the back wall of the stage, .

Morawitz said Loewenstein has been working in Salina to connect with the community to find what his vision for the mural would be. He used a map of the downtown area as the inspiration.

"(This map) is asking, what are the important places that represent your experiences and your memories," Morawitz said. "This mural is a great visual representation of this community in general, specific to Salina."

People who came to the celebration that opened the new downtown Salina stage had the opportunity to buy food and root beer floats from Food by Bonnie, a local food truck.
People who came to the celebration that opened the new downtown Salina stage had the opportunity to buy food and root beer floats from Food by Bonnie, a local food truck.

In addition to having live music and the mural, Food by Bonnie, a local food truck, was onsite selling grilled sandwiches, fajita boats, nachos and root beer floats.

More: New performance stage, more activities coming to downtown Salina

Arts and Humanities used the opportunity of this event to promote the upcoming Smoky Hill River Festival, selling wristbands that allow entry to the June 9 to 12 event, as well as T-shirts for the festival.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina downtown stage opens with concert for its first event