Photo courtesy of the city of Taylor
Crew members tackle the job — and deadline — of turning the Sheridan Center building into an open-air pavilion suitable for farmer’s markets or live entertainment. City officials said the center will be ready when Heritage Park hosts the annual Taylor Summer Festival June 26-29.
By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR — With little more than a month to go, crews continue their efforts to transform the Sheridan Center in Heritage Park into an open-air pavilion suitable for community markets or — as will be the case next month — live music during annual Taylor Summer Festival.
City officials said work on the center will be complete before the opening of the Festival, June 26 to 29, and ready to usher in a new era of community activities.
Renovations to the center have been ongoing for months, and the project’s original three phases represent a nearly $800,000 investment by the Taylor Building Authority and supervised by construction company J.S.Vig.
Mayor Rick Sollars had said during his State of the City address that the project fell behind schedule due to the harsh winter. The second and third phases were reportedly merged and are expected to be complete within a few weeks.
Upgrades to Heritage Park have been under way for several years, including last year’s fresh coat of paint applied to the railroad cars and historic buildings, courtesy of Home Depot and Masco Corp. volunteer crews. City officials reportedly approved a separate, $83,000 contract for construction of two bathrooms and a $59,000 wrought-iron fence.
Among other uses, the center — which had once covered a community ice rink — will host farmer’s markets, art shows and concerts, including the lineup set for the Taylor Summer Festival. Country star Phil Vassar will headline the June 28 feature event, with special guests Ty Stone and Joe Jaber and the Last Divide. June 27 entertainment includes tribute hands Satisfaction (Rolling Stones) and The Rock Show (Journey).
The carnival and midway will be open all four days of the festival, as will the petting farm zoo. The Masco Fireworks Display will be held at 10 p.m. June 28.
For more information on the Taylor Summer Festival or for tickets call 800-514-3849 or visit www.ctix.com.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)