Scott City's Summerfest to raise money for park amphitheater

A concert by a Nashville country artist and a truck rally during this year's Summerfest will help raise money for a park amphitheater in Scott City.

Paul Schock, owner of Schock's Pub in Scott City and one of the lead organizers in the efforts to build the theater, said he is excited about the events.

Summerfest begins today, with the opening of the midway in Scott City Park at 5 p.m. Musical acts are Marcy Lynn of Morley, Mo., at 6 p.m., Larry Herron of Cape Girardeau at 7 p.m. and the Southern Brothers Gospel Group at 8 p.m.

From 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, monster trucks will be on display.

"There's going to be a bunch of the mud trucks and custom trucks over there for people to go out and see," Schock said.

The trucks at the park will also be at the Mud Truck Rally at noon Saturday at the Sadler farm in Millersville. Entrance to that event is $5 at the gate.

A karaoke contest in the park will be held from 5 and 7 p.m. Friday, with a guest appearance by Nashville recording artist Matt Steel.

Schock's Pub will host Wattz Up Karaoke for the "Crank it Up" preshow party from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the pub before Steel takes the stage at 9:30 p.m. Steel has performed all over Nashville and is playing the Scott City gig to build a bigger fan base outside of the country music capital. He is releasing his second album this summer.

Steel will also perform "The Mud Bog" at Sadler farm on Saturday. The song was co-written with local Scott Dunning and will be released on the new album.

"We want to cater to a little bit of everything, and that's why we are doing a country show," Schock said.

Schock said people who like country music or even just original songs should come out and see Steel's show.

Events Saturday begin with a parade down Main Street at 3:30 p.m. The annual talent contest will begin at 5 p.m. Summerfest concludes with fireworks at 10 p.m.

As for the amphitheater, "we've got the park and the city involved and are positive about the whole thing," Schock said. "I think that in the long run, once it's set up it will be a fairly substantial thing for Southeast Missouri. Being able to seat at least 3,000 people will be pretty nice."

The amphitheater will likely cost between $35,000 and $50,000, he said.

"So far we've raised close to $2,000, but we also have some other money that's going to be coming in to help us. We might have a couple of organizations that will match funds, too," he said. There may be enough money to break ground on the theater next year.

Schock said organizers are using as much local talent as they can, and want to support local business and contractors as much as possible.

"We hope to get a lot of the materials donated, and we will do more fundraisers," he said.

Shock said any money the theater makes will go back into the theater for such things as parking, production costs and event planning.

Pertinent address:

Scott City, MO