Riverside Park bandstand canopy backers to request approval from city park board

Several groups are trying again to get a canopy to go over the top of the bandstand in La Crosse’s Riverside Park.

Tonight, representatives from several groups will ask the city’s park board to agree to their plans for a big canopy to cover the bandstand to better improve acoustics during concerts and provide a rain cover for musicians playing there.

Funding for the canopy is coming entirely from private donations — most notably through the summer Moon Tunes concerts, like the Allman Brothers Band tribute scheduled for 5:30 p.m. tonight.

If the park board agrees to the plan, the canopy could go up shortly after a $1 million renovation of the bandstand is completed next year.

The acoustic canopy has already been given the OK by the Heritage Preservation Commission at a meeting last month. The park board has the final say on the project.