Staff report

The city's Thursday-evening music series, Party in the Park, returns to its original home this summer, at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park at Manhattan Square.

But the summertime concerts will not be held in the concrete bowl, as was done in the past.

Rather, the plan is to set up the stage and lighting on the lawn at the center of the park off Chestnut and Court streets near The Strong museum. Acoustic acts could play in the bowl during breaks, and the fountain should be flowing again.

Live artists including painters and solo musicians could be scattered throughout the park, said Margaret Reichert, special events operations manager for the city.

"This is going to allow us to have maybe other activities, other entertainment," she said.

Party in the Park will present the same diverse mix of national and local acts in its 18th season. It will run from June 19 through Aug. 14, with nine concerts. The lineup of acts, as well as other details, are to be announced in early May.

Manhattan Square Park was the home for Party in the Park from 1997 until 2004, when it moved to the High Falls Festival Site. In 2008, it was shifted to the Riverside Festival Site at the corner of Exchange Boulevard and Court Street, where it was popularly dubbed, much to the chagrin of its promoters, "The Party in the Parking Lot."

The new site provides a lawn for concert goers to spread out a blanket and some tree-shaded areas, and access to the MLK Park playground. Plans also call for a village area with food trucks.