Keys to the City, a new painted piano festival in Green Bay, is part art, part concert (and it's free)

Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·1 min read
Five donated pianos will be painted live, with musical accompaniment, in five Green Bay neighborhoods Sunday afternoon for The Tarlton Theatre's Keys to the City festival. The finished works will be on display all summer.
Five donated pianos will be painted live, with musical accompaniment, in five Green Bay neighborhoods Sunday afternoon for The Tarlton Theatre's Keys to the City festival. The finished works will be on display all summer.

GREEN BAY - Chances of hearing Billy Joel's “Piano Man” somewhere in Green Bay on Sunday afternoon just got a little better.

Five donated pianos will be rolled into five different public locations in the city and painted live from noon to 6 p.m. for the first-time Keys to the City: Painted Piano Festival. Each piano painting will be accompanied by live music.

The completed masterpieces will then be on display as public art through September, available for all to admire and play.

The free event is the work of The Tarlton Theatre and its mission to provide affordable arts and cultural offerings to the community. It’s partnering with five neighborhood associations on the project.

Painters were chosen based on their participation in the Art War live painting competitions The Tarlton hosts quarterly throughout the year. Each piano’s design will reflect the history and identity of the neighborhood it is in.

Here’s the schedule for Sunday:

Eighth Street Park Pavilion, 508 Eighth St.

  • Shipyard Neighborhood Association

  • Painter: Carli Ihde

  • Performer: Dani Maus

CityDeck, 301 N. Washington St.

  • Downtown Neighborhood Association

  • Painter: Megan Jain

  • Performer: The Gentleman Grifters

Astor Park Pavilion, 1100 Porlier St.

  • Astor Neighborhood Association

  • Painter: Nate Smith

  • Performer: Hale & Hall

Joannes Park Community Policing Center, 215 S. Baird St.

  • Joannes Park Neighborhood Association

  • Painter: Jake Phelps

  • Performer: Ramona & The Flower

Seymour Park Pavilion, 303 S. Ashland Ave.

  • Seymour Park Neighborhood Association

  • Painter: Rachel Warpinski

  • Performer: Good for the Soul

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Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert. 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay's new painted piano festival, Keys to the City, is Sunday