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What Are Your Encore Park Expectations?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The newest major performance venue in metro Atlanta’s northern suburbs won’t open until Saturday, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra inaugurating the $35 million Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park. The rest of the summer calendar is booked with vintage rock acts — Styx, Stevie Nicks, the Steve Miller Band — and a variety of community events.
But the 12,000-seat pavilion, off Ga. 400 across from North Point Mall, has already been a topic of both anticipation and concern among patrons and Northside residents.
Alpharetta High School principal Buck Greene calls Encore Park “a great experiment for us.” On opening night, the school’s marching band will join the Atlanta Symphony (along with numerous other local youth groups) in the bombastic, cannon-blasted finale of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”
Then, on May 24, the high school’s seniors will graduate from the stage.
The concert, says Greene, “is great public time for the school, and with the students working side by side with the ASO, a priceless opportunity.”
For the graduation ceremony, the school will pay about $7,000 in fees, including security and audio-visual equipment — or about $3,000 less than the Gwinnett Center charges for a comparable rental.
Brandon Beach, president of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, was a key figure in the original Encore Park conception, hoping to build an arts and community center on the site.
“Concerts were the one missing component in north Fulton,” he said, “but everyone knows that the arts and performances are a quality of life issue, and we expect [Encore] to bring the business community together. Encore will be our meeting ground.”
Yet even as some Alpharetta residents see an attractive opportunity, others are not convinced Encore Park will meet their summer entertainment needs.
Sydney Sivertsen and her husband, John, an attorney, are in their 50s with children away at college. They were initially thrilled that the ASO would be performing just a couple of miles from their house.
As she checked into her options, however, she compiled a checklist of “disappointments” — mostly in comparison with concerts at the ASO’s other outdoor venue, Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Buckhead.
Where patrons often bring elaborate picnic meals to ASO concerts at Chastain, Sivertsen worries that Encore Park’s no-outside-food rule will steer the event too down-market.
“A hot, Southern evening at the symphony,” she says, “calls for vichyssoise, cool pasta salad and fresh fruit, with a nice wine and candles. If we want burgers and hot dogs and beer, we go to a baseball game. It’s a different aesthetic, and the ASO should know that.”
With frustration in her voice, she adds that if Encore Park’s owner, the Woodruff Arts Center, “is being greedy and is mistaken in its sense of ambience, maybe we should continue to fight traffic down [Ga.] 400 to Chastain for our summer arts.”
Indeed, ASO leaders had anticipated these sorts of concerns. ASO president Allison Vulgamore sees three distinct identities for its three venues — Encore Park, Chastain and Symphony Hall in Midtown. Encore Park includes 184 VIP seats, although all those spaces are already sold-out for the summer.
“We present the orchestra in different settings,” she says. “Chastain is under the stars and you bring your own [food] basket.”
At Encore, “we have a chef on-site [for the VIP tables], and you’re under a cover in case it rains.”
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Classical Music
Comments
By Kim
May 8, 2008 11:32 AM | Link to this
One of my concerns is the local traffic in the area of the venue. Have you ever been out there @ rush hour? - lets try 12000 people hitting the streets Saturday night at the same time!
It is a network of narrow two lane streets, no turn lanes, etc. The worst example is the major Westside Parkway - it goes from a broad four lane parkway going south to a bad two lane road complete w/ a couple of narrow bridges and a three way stop sign where the rest of the traffic will be directed/
And to add confusion it changes name three times before reaching the main east/west connector Mansell Road - Westside Parkway then Rock Mill Road then Old Roswell Road - not surprised however that development goes on while the infrastructure to supports it crumbles!
By Liz
May 8, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this
People were worried about traffic with the new Gwinnett Arena and although it was a tough drive for the first few events before they ironed out the patterns, I now go there with no problems at all. In fact, I love going to the Gwinnett Arena and have absolutely no traffic issues for the TOP-NOTCH entertainment they offer there.
By Jeff
May 8, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
Neither Cobb’s Energy Center nor Alpharetta’s Amphitheatre got it right. For some reason they are ignoring the fact that they are no longer counties with ONLY white elite. They now have large populations of low to middle class residents that wouldn’t be interested in the any of the offerings at their centers. I live in Alpharetta and witness everyday how it has changed.
By barney
May 8, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
Um, does it matter, this summer you will not be able to afford the ticket prices when gas is going for $4.50 a gallon. Give me a break, food over concerts, that is what I am paying for. I love to go to shows but I cannot afford to do anything at these gas prices, good luck at $4.50!
By Chip
May 8, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe they found some loser snobs worried about not being able to bring in food that I’ve never heard of. I think its great that major summer outdoor concerts will have a venue other than dreadful Lakewood.
By Jess
May 8, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this
Jeff, you are a moron. I am probably one of these middle class people you are referring to that wouldn’t be interested in Encore and I have already bought tickets to see moe at encore and phil lesh is next. Us lower class folks love us some music….yeeeee haaaw. I grew up listening to half the bands playing this summer. A big part of my budget goes to seeing LIVE MUSIC… screw gas and food!
By Glottal Stop
May 8, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
Actually a hot Southern evening at the symphony calls for nothing but music, not a bunch of richy-rich “sophisticates” shoving food in their yaps and toasting “the good life.” I don’t go to places like Chastain because I can’t stand the kind of ill-bred moneybags who attend there.
By jp
May 8, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this
Just what Atlanta needs, another suburban venue to scatter people further away. Let’s just kill the central city entirely! Nobody has any civic pride left, at all.
By Indifferent
May 8, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this
Unless you sit within the first 20 rows at Chastain you are likely to less music due to the noise restrictions and more of the wind bags shoving food and wine down their gullet rather than paying attention to the music. Chastain blows and is an excuse for the blowhards to pat one another on the back about who has the best pedicure and manicure.
By mayretter local
May 8, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this
Just wait til the Allman Brothers ro WSP rock this place out for a couple nights each - woooohooooo!!!
By mayretter local
May 8, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this
Just wait til the Allman Brothers or WSP rock this place out for a couple nights each - woooohooooo!!!
By Brock
May 8, 2008 5:24 PM | Link to this
I’m looking forward to it, Steve Miller and Tom Petty tix are in hand. And, heck yes I’m in for the Phil Lesh/Crowes show on 10-5 and am hoping like crazy the Allmans do a show there.
As to killing the central city, alot of us already are out here. Isn’t it better to bring a venue to us than force us to drive long distances? The alternative for many is to stay home altogether. For the right shows, I’ll gladly drive to Lakewood(which I still like BTW), but I’ll go to more now that a venue is close by.
By J
May 9, 2008 7:19 AM | Link to this
The table setup at Chastain is ridiculous. Next time build a balcony and put the yappers there, and let the music fans sit close to the artists and show their appreciation.
By S
May 9, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
Traffic is gonna be ugly. No one understands the parking lot set up yet. I’ve got tix to the Eagles Friday night. Friday rush hour and the Eagles. I’m leaving at noon…..
By Not Impressed
May 9, 2008 8:33 AM | Link to this
I agree with Jeff; seems like another slam dunk for White Elite. I belive that the venue was built to cater to one class of people. No outside food and look at the line up. Seems to be screaming………OUTSIDERS ARE NOT ALLOWED. A chef is on staff for the VIP…hmmmm…I guess that would be an average joe like me. I guess I will fight traffic to come and then starve. the average person like myself won’t be able to afford the ticket to get in, the gas to get there, and the expensive treats. Then, I guess it will be okay because the “arts” aren’t very well round either. I will continue to go Chastain. There i can bring my food and wine. They also feature a lineup that fits the make up of the entire metro Atlanta area.
By J
May 9, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this
Most concert venues (venues in general) do not allow outside food and beverage in. The exceptions are places like Chastain and Wolf Trap in VA. Face it, right or wrong, they have to make a buck and they only have a short time of the year to do it.
Not impressed: just out of curiousity, who are you wanting to see at Verizon?
If you think about it, what acts can seriously charge such high ticket prices and expect anyone to come? It’s mostly the baby-boomer acts like the Stones and the Eagles and acts who don’t tour often (Madonna, George Michael). Look, if Stevie Wonder was touring this year INSTEAD of last year when Verizon wasn’t built, isn’t it perfectly reasonable to think that he could have played at Verizon?
On another note: if you know anything about the personalities of the Eagles (particularly Don Henley) you would know that they would not like to play a setup like Chastain. Henley would probably spit at the audience.