New stage, covered area will provide place for families, friends to enjoy entertainment, gather for meals, events during winter festivities
The City of Carmel will begin construction this week on a new winter pavilion that will serve as a place for families, friends and visitors to Carter Green – during the winter ice-skating season and Carmel Christkindlmarkt – to gather for entertainment on a new stage or to enjoy a covered area for meals and events. The 34-by-70-foot open-air pavilion, designed by Forever Redwood, will be constructed on the east end of Carter Green, near the Monon Greenway, and will be built using recycled redwood timber. It will include seating and will hold about 100 people.
Construction is expected to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The project will be completed just in time for the 2021 Christkindlmarkt, which opens Saturday, Nov. 20. The construction project will result in temporarily relocating a few of the vendors to the central part of Carter Green at the Carmel Farmers Market, its final three weekends (Sept. 11, 18 and 25).
Current plans call for the pavilion to stay up each November through March, at which time it will be disassembled and stored away for the next winter season. The new ground-level stage will remain in place permanently for concerts that will be featured throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons. City officials are investigating the feasibility of finding a location in one of Carmel’s parks for the pavilion during the summer months to be used for parks programming or rentals.
The new pavilion and stage will result in the replacement of the current Rotary Amphitheater (which is below ground level) with a permanent stage above ground that will boost the visibility and listening ability for audiences during events such as Music on the Monon and the Carmel Farmer’s Market.
“We truly appreciate the gift of Carmel Rotary for the Amphitheater, which has been a tradition for many years at Carter Green and served its purpose well,” said Nancy Heck, Director of Community Relations and Economic Development, who is overseeing the project. “But as the crowd sizes have grown and new events have been added, we felt it was time to bring the stage level up to a point where more people could gather to enjoy musical offerings throughout the year.”
The new winter pavilion will also be available for private rentals and special events during the winter festival season. There are also plans to offer enhanced holiday shows and entertainment during the Christkindlmarkt beginning this year.