PARKERSBURG - The show will not go on.
The Music on the River series this weekend to inaugurate the renovations to Point Park have been canceled, Mayor Bob Newell said Wednesday.
Numerous issues factored into the decision to cancel the shows, which included the famed American Wind Symphony Orchestra on Sunday night, not the least of which was the storm on Friday night that left a path of destruction from Indiana to the Atlantic Coast, the clean up and the high temperatures expected this weekend, Newell said.
A concert may be inappropriate with thousands of people coping without electrical service, trying to stay cool in sweltering heat, he said. Also, city workers are cleaning debris left by the storm, Newell said.
"It's been a bad week all around," Newell said.
Also on the showbill was the River City Brass Band for 8 p.m. Friday and the Mountain State Brass Band at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The bad news this week started when Robert Boudreau, conductor of the symphony, said the orchestra's floating concert stage, the Point Counterpoint II, was facing navigational issues on the Ohio River because of repairs to several locks between Parkersburg and Cincinatti and low water.
Plans changed and Boudreau Tuesday said the boat will not be in town and the symphony was going to perform instead on the new amphitheater at the Point. Boudreau couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Boudreau will be in town today and will meet with Newell and other organizers on rescheduling. A possible date is the weekend of July 13, Newell said.
"I'll find out for sure on (today)," the mayor said.
High temperatures anticipated during the performances were a major reason why the shows were canceled, Newell said. Thunderstorms are forecast Saturday and Sunday by the National Weather Service.
"And we don't know what that heat wave will do with the weather," the mayor said.
Heat advisories have been issued by the weather service. The high today will be around 98, Friday will be near 100 and temperatures on Saturday and Sunday also will be in the high 90s, it said.
"It's going to be really, really hot down there at the Point," concert organizer Cecil Childress said.
Planners were in consensus that the concerts be canceled, Childress said.
Rescheduling depends on the schedule of the bands, he said. Among the possible dates are later this month, Aug. 3 and 10, Childress said.
Consideration has to be given as to what other events are scheduled at the same time, said Childress, the general manager of the Blennerhassett Hotel. The West Virginia Interstate Fair and Festival is July 17- 21 and the Parkersburg Homecoming is the third week of August.
