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Residents voice concerns about Bridal Festival and Collin Park band shell use; city clarifies band shell will not be used
Summary
Two residents raised concerns at the June 4 Holland City Council meeting about performances and access to the Collin Park band shell ahead of the Bridal Festival; city staff said the festival is authorized to use the park but will not be allowed to use the band shell.
Two residents at the City of Holland council meeting on June 4 raised objections to elements of this month’s Bridal Festival and related Pride events and pressed the city on who may perform on the Collin Park band shell.
Martha Kapastani of Holland told council she was relieved a drag performance had been moved to Saugatuck but said she worried that festival performers on Collin Park’s band shell could be denied to some groups. "If the listeners here are unfamiliar with those, they should review them," Kapastani said, referencing city ordinances she said govern public performances. She asked whether performers could be limited to the ground in front of the band shell and said such limits could conflict with protections for religious expression in the city code.
Anne Henriksen of Zeeland recounted local history around adoption of the city’s civil-rights ordinance and expressed concern about school and library programming and Planned Parenthood; her remarks linked those concerns to wider debates over the city’s civil-rights expansion.
City Manager Keith Van Beek clarified city policy during the meeting, saying, "The band shell will not be used for that festival." Van Beek said the Bridal Festival is authorized to use the park but does not qualify under the city’s policy to use the band shell itself.
Mayor Nathan Box and council members also issued proclamations at the meeting recognizing June as Pride month (referred to in the proclamation as "Bridal Month") and June 19 as Juneteenth and encouraged community participation in related events. The proclamation invited the public to a Bridal Festival in Collin Park on Saturday, June 28, and to a Juneteenth Freedom Festival on June 21.
No council action was taken to change park rules at the meeting. Staff said they apply the city’s policies consistently and that groups not qualifying under the policy may use other park areas but not the band shell.
