Rockin' Roosevelt brings bands, hundreds of spectators to Roosevelt Park in Arnold

Sounds of rock, blues and a little soul filled the air Sunday in Arnold for the annual Rockin’ Roosevelt fundraiser at Roosevelt Park.

Hundreds of people flocked to the recreation site in the center of the city.

Resident Wesslyn Owen watched her children and family friends have fun on the playgrounds as the bands played.

“It’s something to do to get the kids out,” Owen said. “This is my first time here in a while. It’s been a fun day while I’ve been here.”

Bands played from noon to 8 p.m. at what is colloquially called the Clam Shell on the side of the park by the basketball court.

Other activities included a 50-50 raffle, face painting, food trucks and various vendors selling jewelry, clothes, toys and CBD products.

The event was presented by the New Ken/Arnold Social in the Park Committee, a nine-member group of Arnold and New Kensington residents.

Committee member Dano Galie served as emcee and stage manager. He booked 11 bands that volunteered their time and talents to raise funds for the park.

Galie said he and his family used to own Fawn Tavern in Fawn in the 1990s and were able to make a lot of musical connections.

“All the bands are my friends,” Galie said. “I live two-and-a-half blocks from here. This is my park. I’m giving back to the city because this place was open for me as I was growing up every day.

“Today’s turnout is fantastic. The weather is fantastic. It’s not too hot. They’d even come when it was 100 (degrees). They’d come when it was snowing.”

Musicians began signing up for the fundraiser in January. Each band performed a half-hour set.

Big House Pete frontman Paul Peterson of Lower Burrell relished his time on stage playing original tunes for a diverse crowd.

“I love to play music, (and) I like the cause,” he said. “I like seeing the community come together. You’ve got Black, white, Latino. We’re all getting together. We’re all having a great time, family, friends, and it’s a good cause. I feel honored to be here. So do my bandmates. We all feel grateful and just humbled to be here. It’s a good feeling.”

Big House Pete followed Heidi & the Hellcats, who played some rock ‘n’ roll classics.

Jason Oskin of New Kensington, a Hellcat and husband of Heidi, echoed Peterson’s sentiments.

“We’re doing what we love, and we love to help people,” Oskin said. “My wife grew up here and was always down at the park as a kid. She feels like she’s giving back, being able to hang out and play here as well. A couple years (ago), we had a lot of rain on the Rockin’ Roosevelt, but this is one of the better weather nights that we’ve had. It makes it a lot easier.”

Freddye Stover of the North Hills, known in music circuits as “Miss Freddye,” brought her blues band to Arnold. It was her ninth year supporting the city’s recreation efforts.

“I love doing this because I do charity work with my music anyway,” she said. “When Dano asked me to do it, absolutely anything to help the kids out to keep something like this going. It’s growing since I’ve been coming. A lot of these musicians that are out, that have been playing every year, I don’t get to see them. This is my chance to see a lot of them. I listen to different styles of music, from classical piano to hip-hop and in between.”

Event coordinator Lou Downard said the committee has hosted a summer fundraiser at Roosevelt Park almost every year since 2013. It was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

“We run a very organized event,” said Downard, 64. “Sometimes it’s like organized chaos, but the concert runs really smooth. We have a lot of families here. We keep it family-oriented. You go to the playground area, there’s kids down there. That’s what we want to see.”

Organizers hoped to raise about $3,000. Admission was $5 a person.

The committee hosts a fall fundraiser at Memorial Park in Arnold.

Mayor Joe Bia commended the organizers and the volunteers for their efforts.

“These guys set up everything well in advance,” Bia said. “It’s a yearlong project. They’re constantly working on it. It brings a lot of people together. It gets people out of their houses, a lot of people having fun. There’s no trouble.

“They do a lot of hard work with no personal reward other than to see something done well for the community.”

Potential park upgrades include security cameras to help prevent vandalism.

Bia said he would like to see the fence around Roosevelt Park come down and have it open year-round, but criminal mischief is a concern.

“It’s in the center of the community,” he said. “Kids that just want to come from across the street and use the park, they don’t have to have their parents drive them somewhere. … I want to see the park open every day of the year.

“When we do open it, there is a lot of vandalism, and we need the community to police themselves. We need folks to take responsibility for what’s going on and appreciate what we have instead of just destroying it.”