Making Magic at Springfield Armory NHS

Photo Courtesy Flamingo Big Band

News Release Date: June 11, 2014

Contact: Joanne Gangi-Wellman, [phone]

SPRINGFIELD, MA.   Come ready to dance to the sweet sounds of Big Band brass and drums. Get in the dance groove with free swing lessons. Set up a blanket or lawn chair and bring a picnic supper onSaturday, July 12. Dance lessons begin at5:30 pmand the concert is at6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Admission is free. Inclement weather moves the concert indoors.

Find your way to Springfield Armory NHS and marvel at the talented Flamingo Big Band. A fourteen piece all female band features lots of trumpets and saxophones with a vocalist who will bring us back to the 1930's and 1940's. Flamingo specializes in music from the swing era. Formed in 1992, they have delighted thousands of happy fans throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts.  

Visitors may enjoy free swing dance lessons at5:30pmheld on a large outdoor dance floor led by dance professionals, Joe and Michele Barker. Pre-concert and intermission dance numbers will get the audience warmed up and ready to glide across the dance floor.

Joanne Gangi-Wellman, Chief of Visitor Services puts the concert in historical context. "It is the 1943 Benny Goodman concert at Springfield Armory that we commemorate. Each year we invite talented Big Band musicians from across New England. We are fortunate to showcase Big Band swing music to hundreds of people each year."

The concert will be held behind the Springfield Armory Museum. Bring a chair or blanket, enjoy picnic suppers, or purchase items from food vendors on site. The Museum, which is wheelchair accessible, will be open until the concert begins at6:30pmand during intermission.

Big Band night is co-sponsored by Springfield Technical Community College who printed the event flyer and in case of rain will provide an indoor space for the concert.

Springfield Armory National Historic Site commemorates and preserves the site of our Nation's first armory, established in 1794. Managed with the Commonwealth of MA, Springfield Technical Community College and the National Park Service, it is the home of the world's largest historic American military firearms collection. The site is open daily, 9AM- 5PM. Admission is free. For information call 413-734-8551 or check www.nps.gov/spar.

-NPS-