By David Taylor Managing Editor
The Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce’s Concert On The Water more than met expectations Saturday night, drawing a packed crowd to Lake Houston Brewery for an evening of live music, community support and waterfront fun.
The chamber had hoped to build on last year’s inaugural concert, which drew more than 150 people, and organizers had set a goal of about 250 attendees for this year’s event. Instead, the crowd climbed even higher.
“We had, including children and volunteers, over 350 people,” said Deanna Becker of the Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce staff. “It was packed.”
The July 25 concert featured Texas country-soul singer Sundance Head, the Porter-born artist who won season 11 of NBC’s “The Voice” in 2016 after earlier appearing on “American Idol.”
“Sundance Head was our headliner,” Becker said. “He played first, a nice acoustic set, and then he hung around and took pictures and signed autographs.”
The Kingwood Dad Bods followed later in the evening, bringing what Becker described as an energetic party atmosphere to the lakeside venue. Visiting Angels, one of the concert sponsors, helped add to the scene by handing out glow sticks and flashing light sticks to concertgoers. “The whole crowd was electrified,” Becker said.
“The whole arena area was lit up with all kinds of lights.”
Lake Houston Brewery, Becker said, proved to be an ideal setting for the summer concert. Although the event was held in late July, the waterfront location helped keep the evening comfortable.
“Lake Houston Brewery was the perfect setting,” Becker said. “The weather was great. We can’t complain about anything.”
The lake itself became part of the atmosphere, with some concertgoers listening from boats pulled up near the pier. Becker said boaters are always welcome, and some come ashore to order food, buy tickets and stay for the show.
“Being there on the water, it always had a nice breeze,” Becker said. “Sometimes we had to hold stuff down because a breeze would come through there.”
The turnout also made for a busy parking lot, but Becker said the venue had enough space to handle the crowd.
“Parking was crazy, but they have plenty of space,” she said. “You just might have had to walk a little bit further.”
While final fundraising numbers were still being tallied, Becker said the chamber expected to be pleased with the results. Proceeds from events such as Concert On The Water help support chamber programs and community activities, including the new educators luncheon and the chamber’s Christmas festival, which is offered free to the community.
“It helps pay for events such as part of the new educators luncheon that we just had,” Becker said. “It also helps to pay for things around the office,” including expenses and utilities.
The event also relied on support from local businesses and volunteers. Becker thanked Tim with Skero’s Furniture and Mattress for donating raffle prizes, Lake Houston Brewery for donating the location and the concert committee led by Tim Paterson of Skero’s Furniture.
The evening included a raffle featuring prizes such as Adirondack-style chairs with a center table, a queen mattress and a recliner. Sponsorships also helped support the event, including major sponsorships from Trusted Insurance and Visiting Angels.
For the chamber, the strong turnout was a sign that Concert On The Water is becoming a growing summer tradition for Crosby and Huffman.
Becker said the chamber already expects to bring the event back next year.
“Absolutely,” she said. “We don’t have a date yet, but we are already looking at lineups. If anybody would be interested in playing, contact the chamber office and we’ll see if we can get something set up.”
Tickets, sponsorship information and future event details are available through the Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce.
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