Music brings us together

Photo + Article by: Charlene Cook - Makenu performs at McKinleyville’s Music in the Park

Every Thursday evening throughout the summer, Pierson Park in Mckinleyville transforms into a community event, centered around live music. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the role music plays in a community. Not just bringing people together—but creating these tiny, repeated interactions that become part of the fabric of a place. 

There was a woman in our community who never seemed to miss an opportunity to dance. If there was live music, chances are she was right up front, moving to every song with such enthusiasm, it was impossible not to notice. You didn't have to know her name to know who she was. She was simply the woman who was always dancing.

We recently lost Paula, and as I sat down to write this article about McKinleyville's Music in the Park, I realized she wasn't just someone who loved live music. She was a reminder of how music can connect strangers in a wordless relationship, built on nothing more than shared joy. I danced next to Paula countless times over the last decade, usually exchanging nothing more than a smile. 

McKinleyville’s Music in the Park is one of those summer event series that brings our community together. As the evening sun begins to cast its golden hue, blankets get laid out, chairs get set up, and the field fills with community members. Kids make a beeline for the playground while others challenge each other to lawn games. Food vendors like Los Giles, Frybread Love, and Manzanilla Kitchen fill the air with the smell of dinner, friends and neighbors meet up.Then the band takes the stage, and the park is transformed.

I've been to enough Music in the Park evenings now to know that no two Thursdays feel exactly the same. Every band brings its own energy. The night I watched Makenu perform, I found myself covered in goosebumps as people of every age danced together in front of the stage. Simply seeing people moving to the same rhythm, completely uninhibited, and beaming with happiness is incredible to witness. 

While this may appear as just a free summer concert series, it's the result of years of collaboration and community support. The concert series has grown through a partnership between the McKinleyville Community Services District and the McKinleyville Chamber of Commerce, evolving from a simple gathering in the park into a beloved weekly tradition that celebrates local music, small businesses, nonprofits, and the people who call McKinleyville home.

"Music in the Park is truly a community event in every sense of the word," said McKinleyville Chamber Executive Director Jesse Miles. "It only happens because of the incredible support of our sponsors, volunteers, musicians, vendors, community partners, and the thousands of people who choose to spend their Thursday evenings together in Pierson Park."

Miles went on to explain how that support extends far beyond one evening each week. “The event helps support our local economy by providing paid opportunities for local musicians, creating business for food vendors, artisans, and other small businesses, giving nonprofits a place to connect with the community, and providing visibility to organizations that make McKinleyville stronger. Every person who attends helps make that possible, and that's the magic of Music in the Park.”

This is one of dozens of experiences featured in the Experience Humboldt Passport on the Vibemap app, the third and final digital passport in Humboldt Made's Choose Humboldt campaign. While the passport encourages participants to explore local attractions, restaurants, outdoor adventures, and community events, it's really about something bigger. It's about discovering the places that make Humboldt feel like home.

Sometimes that means hiking through an old-growth redwood forest or paddling along the coast. Sometimes it means stumbling upon your new favorite restaurant. And sometimes, it simply means packing a lawn chair on a Thursday evening and spending a couple of hours listening to live music alongside your neighbors.

Maybe that's what Paula understood all along. The music matters, of course. But it's the people—the familiar faces, the shared smiles, the spontaneous dancing, and the feeling of belonging—that keep us coming back. This summer, whether it's Music in the Park or another stop on the Experience Humboldt Passport, I hope you'll say yes to an experience that brings you together with your community. You never know what memories you'll make—or who you'll meet—when you do.