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MAYVILLE – The return of the Chautauqua Lake Pops will be welcomed by not just one, but two concerts this weekend.
After several cancellations due to legal setbacks and inclement weather, the Chautauqua Lake Pops will host their first concerts of the summer on Saturday and Sunday.
The concert series was set to start on July 10, but was canceled after a lawsuit claimed that the event produced an excessive amount of noise, and failed to acquire a permit from New York State.
The Pop’s founder and CEO Dan Dalpra says after hard work from many to get a temporary permit, last Saturday’s opening concert was canceled by heavy rains.
Now, Dalpra is expecting a large crowd at this Saturday’s concert which will be the first of the summer.
“Saturday looks awesome. We’re going to do a Queen show, a Queen tribute show which is almost a sellout, that will be great,” said Dalpra. “There’s still some tickets, some general admission seats still available so hopefully we’ll come on out and play and have some great fun.”
The concert will start at 8 p.m. and go until 10. This weekend will also feature a Journey concert on Sunday afternoon which was rescheduled from last week.
“We’re going to do a double header this week. Saturday will be the Queen and Sunday will be Journey at 2:30 in the afternoon, so it will be a fun afternoon show,” said Dalpra.
As for the lawsuit, Dalpra will need to apply for the permanent permit after the summer season. He is frustrated that a small number of community members, and people from outside the area, put a pause on the concerts, while a larger group signed a petition in support of the group.
“We had over 2,000 local signatures of people signing the petition. So again, my concern is, personally, I think that this is a little selfish and unnecessary that we had to go through this,” said Dalpra.
This year’s event will look a little different for boaters who want to listen in, as the concert speakers will not be directed over the water. Rather, they will have to tune into the concert through FM radio.
Dalpra doesn’t understand why these issues were brought up now, after the Chautauqua Lake Pops has been around for 22 years, but he hopes that the community will continue to support the event going forward.
9:07-9:20 My message to everybody out there after the number of years we’ve been doing this is speak up, show your support, support us if you want it and we’ll try to keep it alive,” said Dalpra.
To buy tickets for this weekend and for future events, visit chautauqualakepops.com.
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