Photo gallery: La Jolla summer concerts return, drawing droves to Scripps Park
Gray skies and a late start caused by equipment problems couldn’t dampen the spirits of the crowds who flocked to the season-opening show of the Kiwanis Club of La Jolla Concerts by the Sea summer series in Scripps Park on July 17.
Music fans posted up on blankets and chairs before taking to the floor — er, grass — to dance to the signature mash-ups of funk band Full Strength.
The return of the annual summer concert series in La Jolla’s Scripps Park is proceeding full steam ahead.
The concerts, once run by the La Jolla Town Council and La Jolla Rotary Club, are now run by the Kiwanis Club of La Jolla, which oversees several large public events, including the La Jolla Half Marathon, Junior Olympics and pancake breakfast. The summer concerts were put on pause after 33 years at the end of the 2016 season due to lack of funding.
In 2019, it was announced that some of the proceeds from the annual La Jolla Cove Swim would help provide money to bring the concerts back. The 2019 swim raised $20,000 to fund the first round of concerts, planned for 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the shows in 2020-21.
Full Strength offered to donate its time for this year’s opener “to help bring back the beloved concert series,” according to vocalist and bass player Andrew Johnson.
Next in this season’s lineup are the Mighty Untouchables on Sunday, July 24, followed by Sue Palmer and Her Motel Swing Orchestra on July 31 and the Heroes on Aug. 7. All concerts are free and begin at 3:30 p.m. at Scripps Park.
Learn more at kiwanisclublajolla.org/event/concerts-by-the-sea. ◆
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