For its 89th summer, the Rapid City Municipal Band will entertain with light classical overtures, pop tunes, traditional marches and pieces from hit movies such as "Star Wars."

A loyal crowd that averaged about 1,000 last summer and dedicated musicians with a knack for sight reading make it all possible, said Milo Winter, director of the band for more than 30 years.

"It's kind of an ambience all of its own," he said. "People come down and they bring their own blanket or lawn chair. Boy scouts are selling popcorn. It's old-town America. It's free and you don't have to get a babysitter."

The band - which plays at the Memorial Park band shell at 8 p.m. every Wednesday through July - brings local musicians of "all walks of life," from housewives to professionals and leaders in the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra.

This season, Winter will share the podium with directors Don Downs, Bill Evans, Gary Hansen and Mark Bray.

"It's kind of nice to have some variety in directors," said Donna Fletcher, a French horn player who started in the band as a senior at Central High School in the '70s. Fletcher now plays with her husband, Jim, a percussionist. She spends her summers doing medical transcription at home and traveling the northern Hills to play with a mix of regional bands in addition to the Rapid City Municipal Band.

"On Monday nights, we rehearse all the music for the concert. We run through once, maybe twice if it's more challenging, and then Wednesday night is the concert. There isn't a lot of time to practice," she said.

Conductors choose their own music selection, and Monday night is the first time the band gets the music, Fletcher said.

"We're never sure what we're going to play, so it's kind of fun to get there and see," she said.

Winter said conductors aim to challenge the band and bring an entertaining program to the audience, trying not to repeat music from year to year. With the talent they have, they can play almost anything, he said.

"It's just a lot of fun to make music, and they're very highly skilled players. When you can play as well as they play, it's fun to play and hear," Winter said.

The band began as a National Guard band, Winter said, before a city ordinance was passed in the 1930s supporting the musicians. Players receive a stipend from the city for their music.

"Soon after World War I, it morphed into a combination of military band and community musicians," Winter said.

Winter co-directed the band with Jack Knowles until Knowles' retirement in 2007. He was fortunate to inherit a good situation and "top-flight musicians" from former directors, he said. "We've never had to look back."

Fletcher remembers, like Winter, when the band used to play in Canyon Lake Park and Memorial Park before the band shell was built. She used to watch the band in the parks as a middle-schooler and imagined joining the musicians someday.

The band crammed into the Central States Fair show mobile before the Memorial Park band shell was constructed, Winter said. With the larger, permanent stage, the full band can be housed for the first time.

Playing outdoors has its challenges, especially in June, said Stan Hanson, a trumpet player who came to Rapid City as Winter's assistant director at Stevens High School more than 40 years ago. He's been joining the seven other trumpets on stage with the municipal band ever since he came to Rapid City.

The wind has improved with the new stage, Fletcher said, but bugs still can vex the outdoor musicians.

The band has had to cancel only a few concerts that Winter can remember in his history with the band, and members show up when it rains - just in case it clears at the last minute.

"There are people in their 70s or even 80s that are still playing," Fletcher said, "so I see no reason why we wouldn't keep playing."

The Rapid City Municipal Band helps her keep her French horn skills up to speed for the symphony, Fletcher said, and without the bands, she probably wouldn't play. The summer opportunities keep her with the same group of musicians from the symphony.

"I know when I was living in Nevada, they just didn't have community bands like that to play in," Fletcher said. "They were more professional-type things, so that's something Rapid City has that a lot of larger communities don't."

If you go

What: Rapid City Municipal Band summer concerts

When: 8 p.m. every Wednesday through July (with one Tuesday performance June 30)

Where: Band shell in Memorial Park

Admission: Free.

Contact Josie Kerk at josephine.kerk@rapidcityjournal.com