Revised March 3, 2025
By Michele Miller
What’s What New Port Richey
The weekend was here, and we were in need of a night out. One that was easy on the budget and gave me a night off from cooking. We headed downtown to meet friends at Backdraughts Pizza, where the white Hibiscus Pie is one of my favorite things to introduce others to.
Didn’t disappoint.
Afterwards, we took a short jaunt over to Sims Park, where The Shaelyn Band was getting ready to groove out brass horns and all, and a very receptive audience was arriving with chairs and blankets or snatching a place on the concrete stair seats where the sound in this modest little amphitheater proved better than expected as the Friday evening traffic rolled down Main Street.
Shaelyn was the March concert offering for the New Port Richey Library’s Riverside Concert Series held on a Friday night along the banks of the Pithlachascotee River in the southwest corner of Sims Park where passersby might follow the sound of the music and find their way in.
The band got it going early with Bonnie Raitt’s Something to Talk About and never really let up from there on out. Not a lot to sit still for till the band closed their fun set with a tear-tugging rendition of the Beatles I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends.
Didn’t disappoint, and a lot of us joined in singing sort of in unison, some of us sharing a hug or a knowing “we’re in this together” knudge as the sun dipped and the fluorescent blue violet lights that underscore the Main Street Bridge came into better view.
“I needed that,” came a collective sigh.
It was just what the doctor, the therapist, the loved one that wants better for you, and the New Port Richey Library ordered.
I can’t say enough about the value and imperative input local libraries offer in our community. The Riverside Concert Series is just a smidgeon of what’s there for the taking. Just one way this multi-faceted community service serves to enrich the lives of those who live here, as evidenced by the plethora of events, programs, and services featured in this publication in the monthly library calendar, including a couple of ongoing pass programs where patrons can score free access to local theatrical productions and area museums.
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In February, in honor of National Library Lovers Month, citizens across this country were encouraged to show a little love and support by simply signing up for a library card or checking out a book or digital service or registering or attending an event or a program
In return, libraries promise to open a window to something you’ve been meaning to try, something you’ve been meaning to get back to, something you never thought of before.
And maybe, just a much-needed fun time .
Now onward.
Peace – M
Photo | Michele Miller
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