Laughter filled the Minneapolis summer air as community members gathered in Bryant Square Park to hear the band Heavy for the Hawk perform on Thursday.

The lead singers, Rachel Kenney and Jon Offerdahl thank the crowd for coming out despite the constant drizzle of rain and wind. The few spectators cheer, looking forward to future music. The band plays covers ranging from Sublime to Vance Joy, along with a few original songs, filling the air with joy as it continues to rain. 

Free sandwiches and stickers are given to spectators. Dogs try to join their owners in their excitement but settle for a scrap of bread in the grass instead. 

Free events like this happen every day during the summer throughout Minneapolis. 

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is hosting Music and Movies in the Park, an event series where concerts and movies are hosted at different locations around Minneapolis, according to their website. 

Aaron Briner, the community events manager for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, said these events last from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the unofficial start and end of summer. While Briner said musicians are not paid for their performances, the sound technicians, sound equipment, venues and marketing are provided. 

“We show over 250 concerts throughout the summer,” Briner said. “Our program is very robust, and it is a volunteer performance, and they know that going into it when they apply for it so we’re very upfront about it.” 

So far, many scheduled performances have been canceled due to the weather. Eric Hohn, bassist of the musician group Mubbla Buggs, said the group was set to play a few weeks ago, but the weather prevented them from performing. 

Dodging Potholes’ musician Mary Strand said the weather worked to the band’s advantage and cleared just in time for the performance a week ago. 

“It was a miracle,” Strand said. “We had a great crowd considering the rainy day. So we were very pleased with who came out and how many.” 

Briner said 50 recreational centers plan specific dates to play movies and send it to the board. Movies are projected on an inflatable screen and often require specific licensing to play. 

Second Harvest Heartland, a hunger relief organization, is one of the sponsors for Music and Movies in the Park. Director of Programs Sarah Peterson said sponsoring has gotten the food bank’s name out to the community. 

“We show up even at events that have nothing to do with food,” Peterson said. “But just showing up as a good neighbor and letting folks know that we’re there.” 

The leasing agent of The Lakes Residences, Rae Galuska, said having movies and music every day is special and community members should take advantage of these opportunities. 

“I think the number of concerts that they put on is unique to this city,” Galuska said. “I don’t have an awareness of any other cities that do this on this level.” 

All events can be viewed on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s event calendar. A few events scheduled this week are as follows: 

Monday: Murphy Smith at the Water Works at Mill Ruins Park – starting at 7 p.m. 

Tuesday: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem at the Whittier Recreation Center – starting at 9 p.m. 

Wednesday: The Band That Fell to Earth at Lake Harriet Bandshell – starting at 7:30 p.m. 

Friday: Shrek at Dickman Park – starting at 9 p.m.