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Continuing a trend that started with it's grand reopening, the Parsons Municipal Auditorium enjoyed a very successful year in 2006 with more that 22,000 people attending fifty-three events at the venue.
Some of the highlights of 2006 included performances by Broadway star Susan Vega, the duo Trout Fishing in America, singing group The Coats, piano virtuoso Alpin Hong, Irish tenor Derek Moloney, and Country music star John Anderson.
Not to be out done, our local singers, musicians, and thespians were showcased in numerous performances including musicals presented by the Parsons High School and Labette Community College, two productions of the Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People, and various concerts and recitals. Of particular note was the highly received concert by local pianist Ken Weaver who was the featured performer in the first ever Hometown Entertainment Series Concert presented by the Parsons Arts and Humanities Council and the auditorium.
While the auditorium normally serves as the site of lighthearted entertainment, twice it was used as the gathering place to share the grief of heartbreaking tragedy and the struggle to survive. USD #506 presented "A Celebration of Life" to remember the lives of three students and a teacher who drowned in the ocean off Costa Rica while on a class vacation. Missionary Gracia Burnham told a large audience of the hardships she and her husband encountered while being held hostage by a militant group in the jungles of the Philippine Islands.
On average the auditorium hosts forty-six events a year with a combined estimated attendance of 25,000, more than twice the population of Parsons.
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