OKEHAMPTON?S new bandstand saw its inaugural use this month during the Simmons Park centenary celebrations. The town?s Excelsior Silver Band entertained the crowds from the stand on Sunday July 8. Despite initial anxieties about the acoustics, the audience reported that the band?s music could be clearly heard all over the park. Once the ground around the new stand has been resurfaced, the band plan to give regular performances in the bandstand. The new stand, in its sunny open position in front of the sports centre, replaces the park?s original bandstand erected on the other, shadier side of the river in 1911.
