Lincolnstock canceled, but community still gets a free dose of entertainment

The concern surrounding COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of Lincolnstock, the annual music festival held at Hooper Park that had been scheduled for Aug. 1.

Gary Zadick, who organizes and funds the free concert for the community as part of his annual family reunion, announced the event's cancellation earlier this month.

"I didn't want to have any fuss," he said, adding the ongoing pandemic raised concerns about people gathering close together at the event.

"I do it for fun, to get my family together," he said. "We'll do it again next year, God willing. We'll have a vaccine by then, I'm sure."

Zadick said he went ahead and paid all the bands he had booked, regardless of the cancellation. He noted that most of the the big music festivals around the state this yer, including Red Ants Pants in White Sulfur Springs, have been canceled.

"Bands and artists are having such a hard time," he said. "They argued, but I said no, a deal's a deal. I booked you."

Zadick also paid Marty Severson, who handles the sound for Lincolnstock. Severson, who runs Severson Productions, a sound and video production company in Great Falls, had also worked with Lincoln Schools to provide the sound system and screen for the June 6 graduation ceremonies.

"He kind of got mad at me for sending him payment," Zadick said. "He says, 'tell you what then, I'm gonna show a movie for the folks of Lincoln graduation afternoon.' But then it rained. So Marty, God bless him, said 'I'm just gonna leave my screen there on the flatbed. When the weather's improved I'm going to talk to Shane Brown at the school and we're going to show a movie for free.'"

Zadick said Severson, like the artists and bands, had the whole summer booked and lost considerable business due to the coronavirus-related cancellatioons.

"(Showing the movie) was very nice of him, I thought," Zadick said. "That Drive -in Movie he put on in Helena sold out in like a day or two."

Friday evening, June 12, the couple dozen people who showed up were treated to a showing of "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Word of the movie spread on Facebook, but information for an ad to promote it reached the BVD June 9, after the June 10 issue had already been uploaded to the printer.

Lincolnstock was absent from the Lincoln entertainment calendar in 2017 and 2018, as Zadick put the event on hold to travel and spend personal time with his family. In the interim, he helped the Lincoln Council for the Arts fund bands for the Lincoln Arts Festival both years. Zadick brought the music festival back last summer, and says Lincolnstock will be back again in 2021.

"I have the most fun," he said. "I get to pick the bands. It's like being in charge of the jukebox."