Music Under The Stars To Remain At Chamizal; Alcohol Will Be Sold

Music Under the Stars’ 29th season will take place at the Chamizal National Memorial Park this summer and alcohol will be present this year, unlike last year.

Only now attendees who wish to have an alcoholic beverage at one of the concerts will have to buy it on site. The National Park Service’s ban on attendees bringing alcohol into the park during the summer months remains in effect.

The National Park Service, which runs the Chamizal National Memorial Park, has worked to get a third-party vendor that will serve alcohol during the Music Under the Stars concerts, said Ben Fyffe, Cultural Programs Supervisor for the City’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.

Fyffe said the National Park Service made it clear they were not going to go back on the policy of not allowing alcohol to be brought into the park during the summer months.

Attendance at Music Under the Stars took a substantial hit last year, dropping from a season average of about 110,000 to 39,000. The City’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department received feedback from the public that people were not attending because of the alcohol ban.

The department looked at other possible venues to host Music Under the Stars, including Ascarate Park, Cohen Stadium, and Fort Bliss, but decided to keep the music series at the Chamizal because people associate the series with the park and vice versa, Fyffe said.

According to the Chamizal National Memorial Park’s website, the alcohol ban, which started June 1, 2011, was done because “many accidents have occurred; some of them resulting in traumatic injuries. A number of violent crimes and increasing levels of illegal behavior have created an atmosphere that is inconsistent with the goal of providing a safe, rewarding, cultural and recreational experience for park visitors. Also, litter control, destruction of property and defacing of government assets are reaching unacceptable levels during our peak season.”

The 2012 Music Under the Stars lineup has been released and includes:

June 10 Ivon Ulibarri and Caf Mocha (Salsa/Merengue) Albuquerque, NM

June 17 Sunny Ozuna and the Sunliners (Oldies) San Antonio, TX

June 24 Grupo Fantasma (Latin Funk) Austin, TX

July 4 El Paso Wind Symphony (Patriotic/Fireworks) El Paso, Tx

July 8 Yellow Dubmarine (Reggae Tribute to The Beatles) Baltimore, MD

July 15 The Grascals (Bluegrass) Nashville, TN

July 22 Sarah King and the Smoke Rings (Swing) Brooklyn, NY

July 29 Tropicalisimo Apache (Cumbia Tropical) El Paso, TX

August 5 The Big Easy (Motown) El Paso, TX

August 12 Mariachi Reyna de los Angeles (Mariachi) El Monte, CA