07/06/12 Culver Summer Schools & Camps’ Moonlight Serenade will be held on a single night this weekend because of low lake levels.
The traditional serenade by the Culver Summer Naval Band aboard the R.H. Ledbetter – a staple along the Lake Maxinkuckee shores since 1943 – will be Saturday, July 7. The Ledbetter, the Summer Camp’s three-masted square rigger, will leave the Naval Pier at 8:45 p.m. and arrive at the Culver Town Park at 9 p.m.
The Moonlight Serenade is usually on a Friday-Saturday, covering the West Shore one night and the East Shore the other. But because of the shallowness of the lake resulting from the drought, it was decided to limit the serenade to a single night.
Once the Naval Band serenades at the Town Park, the Ledbetter will head out into the lake, where pleasure boats and the traditional flotilla of boats will be able to enjoy the serenade.
The tradition of the Moonlight Serenade began in 1942 aboard the O.W. Fowler, the predecessor to the Ledbetter. For the last 69 years, members of the Naval Band, Concert Band, and Jazz Band have boarded the flagship under the full moon, playing old favorites for town and lake residents along the East and West shores of Lake Maxinkuckee.
The Moonlight Serenade is made possible by the Ann M. Smitson Moonlight Serenade Endowment.
