Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

From left Bernard Jones, Tyronica Palm, Janell Banks and Ray Williams relax before the music started at the 11th annual Krug Park Bash Sunday evening.

A hard rock guitar tuning up broke the Sunday evening silence at Krug Park. A mix of people took seats in the bowl and along the wall. Some chatted, some danced, some threw a football around. Everyone was waiting for the Krug Park Bash to begin.

Justin Harris came all the way from St. Louis for the show.

“I’ve always liked the Krug Park area, I’ve been wanting to see a concert up here. Kind of glad I get to see one,” he said.

At 6:50 p.m., after a 50-minute delay, the first act came on stage. Eric Banks did a freestyle dance and the party was on.

This is the 11th year for the Krug Park Bash. Fred “DJ Heat” Moore started the event to recognize local talent and provide another entertainment outlet for St. Joseph.

“I’ve always heard people say there’s nothing to do in St. Joe; well, as a youth coming up there was always something to do here at Krug Park,” Mr. Moore said. “I saw that people weren’t really utilizing this beautiful park, so I said I’ll try to do something. I wanted to give back to the community.”

Mr. Moore said when he held the first bash in 1997, it featured only a handful of local rap and hip hop acts. Sunday evening he had scheduled four hours of entertainment ranging from rap to gospel to rock, dance, stomp and roller skating with groups from as far away as Omaha, Neb., and Topeka, Kan., performing.

Derrik Ward with the Kansas City rap group “Diverse” said it was his first time at the event.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to bring the community together,” he said. “It seems like a real good area too. The park is enormous.”

Marissa Ross said she’s been to the Krug Park Bash every year since the beginning.

“It’s just something fun to do, the interaction, just getting the local groups together and seeing all the talent,” she said.

Mr. Moore said all the artists perform for free. And it’s always been a free event that’s open to everyone.

“People can get some exposure to local talent as well as some other talent in the Midwest,” he said. “Just have a good time is all we want everybody to do.”

Alonzo Weston can be reached

at alonzow@npgco.com.