Symphony Under The Stars Free Family Concert In Gloucester Hosted In New Location In 2021

The Cook Foundation and the Gloucester Arts Festival is pleased to announce that the Symphony Under the Stars free family concert will return this year but in a different location. The free family concert will take place at Woodville Park on Saturday, June 5 at 8 p.m. The concert will feature the Virginia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Bhasin.

Woodville Park is a Gloucester County owned park located at 3904 Woodville Park Road. The Cook Foundation is partnering with Gloucester County Parks, Recreation & Tourism to hold the concert and accommodate the maximum amount of people allowed by the COVID-19 guidelines.

The foundation asks that all in attendance adhere to the current COVID-19 standards and guidelines.

Parking must be reserved to attend the concert.

Go to gloucesterartsfestival.com to reserve a parking spot at Woodville Park & Abingdon Elementary & Abingdon Park. Carpooling of families and close friends is recommended to maximize the amount of people in attendance. Cars will not be given admittance to the parking lot without a reservation. Free shuttle service will be running the entire evening beginning at 6:30 p.m. from Abingdon and concert goers are asked to line up socially distanced by families at the white tent in the Abingdon bus loop. Both lots have ADA accessible spaces. The shuttle is ADA accessible.

While the event is not being held on Main Street this year, many Main Street restaurants will offer a 10% discount to customers the evening of the concert. Boy Scout Troop 111 will also be selling snacks and drinks on site at Woodville Park.

This year’s program includes “Serenading Strings,” beloved music from Mozart, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky; and the “Brass Bonanza” with its spectacle of Copeland, Sousa and Gershwin.

“Woodville Park is the largest of our county’s eight parks and we are excited to partner with the Cook Foundation to provide a safe and open spaced venue for this well-loved community concert. We hope that concert goers who haven’t discovered Woodville will and return to enjoy this wonderful community asset for families,” said Katey Legg, Director for Gloucester County Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

Depending on weather before the concert, it is highly encouraged that concert goers bring chairs for all family members and not rely on blankets but picnics are certainly welcome and encouraged.

Alcohol is not allowed on county property.

If the concert is cancelled on June 5 due to inclement weather, it will be held the next day on June 6 at 8 p.m. at the same location of Woodville Park with all parking reservations being honored.

“The Cook Foundation has been graciously gifting this free concert to families in Gloucester now for 15 years. It has become a much-anticipated event annually and we are so pleased and grateful to have planned a way to let the music play on in Gloucester during COVID,” said Jenny Crittenden, Executive Director for the Cook Foundation.

For more information on the Symphony under the Stars free family concert and other upcoming Gloucester Arts Festival events, go to gloucesterartsfestival.com.