Shown are participants waving flags at last year’s Patriotic Pops concert. Photo by Mark Knecht.

News Release

SYRACUSE — The annual Patriotic Pops concert, presented by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, is set for Sunday, June 29, on the lawn of Oakwood Resort, Syracuse. The concert is the kick-off of Independence Day family gatherings and community events.

Earlier in the day at 4:30 p.m. Chautauqua-Wawasee invited Teddy and Edith Roosevelt to share stories of their lives together, focusing on a love of nature and conservation. This free event will be held at Wawasee High School.

Then at 7:30 p.m. area residents gather, bringing their chairs or a blanket to enjoy the free concert. Prior to the concert, as a special treat, Chautauqua has arranged for a face painter and balloon artist to be available at 7 p.m. as entertainment for children.

Stop by the Chautauqua-Wawasee tent for free patriotic glow necklaces, small American flags to wave and the program music schedule.The honor guard from Syracuse Legion Post No. 223 will kick off the event at 7:30 p.m.

The Fort Wayne Philharmonic, led by Conductor Caleb Young, will feature popular and well-known orchestral music to honor the American spirit of freedom and adventure. The first featured song will be the “Star Spangled Banner,” followed by Gershwin’s “Overture to a Girl Crazy,” and then two movie songs — selections from “Apollo 13” and the theme from “Jaws.”

Two marches come next: the “Liberty Bell March,” followed by the “National Emblem March.” The popular Hayman tunes “Pops Hoe-Down” and “Armed Forces on Parade” follow the marches. Next get ready for a toe-tapping song with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” Three Anderson songs follow with “The Waltzing Cat,” “Horse and Buggy” and “The Girl I Left Behind Me.” The show ends with three favorites, “How Sweet the Sound — A Fantasy on American Hymntunes,” “Sing Out America” and “Superman March.”

The concert is gratefully sponsored by Steel Dynamics Foundation, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Chautauqua-Wawasee, Kenneth and Lela Harkless Foundation, Omer and Susan Kropf, Oakwood Resort, Floyd and Betty Lou Lancia, Judy Pursley, Kay and James Young and the Wawasee Property Owners Association.

In the event of rain, the concert will be held at Wawasee High School.