Mustangs 50's-60's Music Band Fills Vern Allen Park With Songs of Peace and Love
- ejreporter
- Aug 2
- 3 min read
It was a trip back in time to the 60’s at Vern Allen Park on Saturday, with the “Mustang Band’s 60’s music, and it really felt like an alternate reality. After a hot Summer afternoon a cool breeze had attendees spread comfortably wide across the expansive lawn. The mood was relaxed while couples in their seventies and eighties took a nostalgic ride with the sounds of Twist & Shout and listened to the Everly Brothers croon “Dream, Dream, Dream” and the more cheerful refrains of La Bamba
This year the Village of Washingtonville decided to schedule a band and a few
food trucks for each weekend, and community members are really enjoying the music break... especially since the outdoor music venues at many other towns and villages were too flooded, and their shows had to be canceled. If you are
interested in attending the music is free of charge (lol as is the companionship of 100-150 other community members)
About 70 percent of attendees at this week’s Music in the Park event were teens or early 20’s during the 60’s. They may have been reminded of the always tumultuous times of 60's teens. Those in their early 20’s would have been living in the the middle of the active Vietnam War when many were being drafted into a war that some felt was wrong thing to do, which was especially emphasized when the civilian casualty numbers were released. Some of their friends may have been killed. Others may have chosen to move to Canada to avoid the draft. But in the essence of the beautiful Vern Allen Park atmosphere, family time and the ever-present Washingtonville sense of Community brought mellow and happy feelings about how they overcame challenges to develop what became a generally peaceful life, many of the couples likely having gotten married during the time that the war ended.
Touching moments filled the evening, like during the Everly Brothers' song "Dream, Dream, Dream" when 3 grandmothers could be seen waving their arms high and cheerily in time with the music. And when arriving or leaving, everywhere you looked there were seniors helping seniors.
Some of the couples there had been married for 40 or more years, and listening to the music of their early days must have felt like the old days when they were "out on a date"
Vern Allen Park is huge, so the crowd size can be misleading. Take each of these
pictures and multiply it by about 4. And then there was were also the Dads and
Grandpa's playing with the littles in the outdoor gym area.
Never discount the strength of our Seniors. The lady at the bottom left had
her hands full, plus what appeared to be a an oxygen unit, all while pushing uphill. But there was NO WAY she was going to miss this event with her community. I gave her a little hand for just the last 10 feet of the hill and she managed everything else herself.
Here you see the 3 ladies in the 2nd row waving their arms and torso's to the tune of the "Dream, Dream, Dream". This group opted for some good shade, parking adjacent to 200 ft. tall evergreens. The shade was well appreciated as near the beginning of the concert when the heat continued climbing up higher in the the 80's. Fortunately it cooled down with a light breeze as the evening progressed.
(Note) -Unfortunately the recorded sound quality glitched during thi music of Dream, Dream, Dream but these beautiful young ladies got the message across with their smiles and dancing arms.
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