Come sail away to shade at Riverstone
Art courtesy Coeur d'Alene Arts and Culture Alliance This artist's rendering depicts the two sails that will be placed over the amphitheater at Riverstone Park this spring.
COEUR d’ALENE — The “frying pan” at Riverstone Park will be cooling down this summer.
Two large sails to provide shade at the park’s popular amphitheater are scheduled to go up this spring following successful fundraising efforts that started in 2019 and brought in about $180,000.
“I feel really good, but I’ll feel really good when it actually gets started,” said Ali Shute, executive director of The Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance. “We’re going to have a big party.”
Shute said Ginno Construction is expected to soon begin installing the posts, which is a lengthy and costly project. The post holes will measure 14-feet deep and about 3-feet high to hold the sails that will be about 75 feet by 45 feet.
The amphitheater, with the Riverstone pond as a backdrop, is the site of the alliance’s summer concert series that begins with Nu Jack City on July 6.
“That will be our big celebration,” Shute said Friday.
The evening concerts draw big crowds, but the musicians end up under the sun most of the show and it heats up quickly.
Bands refer to it as the “frying pan.”
“They’re cooking out there,” Shute said, adding that one musician even thought she had a bit of heat stroke during a performance.
“We don’t want that happening to our bands,” Shute said.
The sails will cover the stage and extend out somewhat over the audience.
They will benefit not only the concerts, but other events held there, such as weddings, and provide shade for the public throughout the summer.
“It’s a beautiful location,” Shute said.
In 2021, the Coeur d’Alene City Council inked a naming rights partnership with Idaho Central Credit Union for the amphitheater, a 10-year, $40,000 agreement.
The city will maintain the structure and sails, which will come down each fall.
Shute said they initially budgeted about $85,000 for the shade covers. Materials were about $50,000 but the project turned out to be a bit more labor-intensive than expected.
An anonymous donation of $40,000, $35,000 promised from ignite cda and about $20,000 from the Arts Commission, along with many sponsorships and smaller donations, will make it happen.
Shute said the summer concert series lineup is nearly completed and she believes the addition of the sails for shade will attract even bigger crowds and give an improved setting for performers.
“It’s a solid stage so it will give us a little more credibility as a concert venue,” she said.