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By RANDY PATRICK

The Jessamine Journal

Saturday is Armed Forces Day, and Parks and Recreation will honor current members of the military and veterans during its weekend concert series at Rock Fence Park.

All first responders will also be recognized with a special program beginning at 6:45 p.m.

The JCTC Military Leadership Training Program Honor Guard will start the program with the presentation of colors, and that will be followed by Kelly Caldwell singing the national anthem.

Caldwell, a Madison County educator, and her band Kashmere, will be the performers for the free concert Saturday night. They were supposed to have opened the summer concert series April 24, but the show was canceled because of inclement weather.

The Five Below Band was the first to perform, last Saturday.

According to Teg Evans, who coordinates the concert series, the delayed opening was good, but he would have liked to see more local faces in the crowd.

“Last night at the park was great in spite of a couple of drizzles,” Evans said in a text message Sunday. “We had about a hundred or so, and no one left” until almost 10 p.m., he said.

Evans said a couple of Nicholasville Police officers came and stayed the whole evening.

“Hats off to them,” he said.

“The only thing that was a little disappointing,” he said, was that probably 75 percent of those who attended were from Lexington. “I sure wish the locals would give us a chance,” he said.

He’s hoping more come for Armed Forces Day.

“We invite all military personnel and first responders to join us for this special evening,” Evans said.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the summer concert series was suspended last year, but with about half of all adults having had at least their first COVID-19 shots, organizers thought they would try the concerts again. Visitors are to take reasonable precautions to avoid spreading the virus.

Other performers scheduled this year include Courtney Arnold, who has been on “American Idol,” the bluegrass band 27 South, and contemporary Christian singer Marlana VanHoose, who performed at the Republican National Convention in 2016.

Next week’s scheduled performers, on May 22, are the Mama Said String Band.