Playing it cool

COEUR d’ALENE — "Bones" Kasun and Patrick Coast with the band "What About Bob" have performed plenty of concerts in the heat of the day.

"When you're facing the sun, it’s totally different," Kasun said Thursday. "Probably a 20-degree variable."

He looked toward the stage at the Riverstone amphitheater.

"It's been kind of like a sauna for me up there," he said.

Not anymore. It's much cooler now.

Two new sails that provide shade for the musicians on the stage known as "the frying pan" were dedicated before about 125 people at Riverstone Park.

The long-awaited coverings will have a dramatic impact on the Riverstone Summer Concert Series, said Ali Shute, executive director of The Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance.

"This has transformed the stage into a professional performance stage," Shute said. "It not only benefits the Arts and Cultural Alliance, but the whole community."

After several delays, she watched the sails finally installed by Ginno Construction on Tuesday. They measure about 75 feet by 45 feet and are attached to posts set in holes that are about 15 feet deep and 3 feet wide. They cover the stage and extend over the audience.

"It makes me so happy we got it up," Shute said.

The stage has long been a hot box until the sun sets, making things uncomfortable for the musicians who have performed at Riverstone.

Fundraising efforts started in 2019 and over the coming years brought in about $180,000 to pay for the canvas covers and installation costs.

In 2021, the Coeur d’Alene City Council signed a 10-year, $40,000 naming rights partnership with Idaho Central Credit Union for the amphitheater.

Money also came from an anonymous donation of $40,000, $35,000 from ignite cda and about $20,000 from the Arts Commission, along with sponsorships and smaller donations.

The city will maintain the sails, which will go up each spring and come down each fall.

Quanah Matheson, cultural director with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, offered a few words and said the Tribe's connection to the land they were on goes back generations.

"We learned to harmonize ourselves with these lands," he said.

Matheson told the crowd to "Enjoy this beautiful shade. Every human on Earth loves shade," he said.

Coeur d'Alene City Councilman Dan Gookin said when the project was first proposed, it made a lot of sense.

But he jokingly said that he figured it would just take going to Costco, buying some poles and a canvas cover to get it done.

"I did not know it would take four years," he said, laughing.

He said Don Sausser of Coeur d'Alene, who died July 23 at the age of 88, was the anonymous donor who made the major contribution for the sails.

"That was phenomenal," Gookin said.

Shute said Sausser's gift "is what put us over the top and made it actually go."

"Maybe he is looking down from up above," she said.

Roxanne Kusler, community development officer with ICCU, said they are committed to giving back and were proud to be a sponsor of the Riverstone amphitheater.

She said the sails were a "relief to the artists that perform here and we hope that it will help bring many more to come."

Kusler also said ICCU was pleased one of the sails was green.

"In our world, green is the color of love," she said.