Dover Lions Club announces 2026 summer concert series

The Dover Lions Club recently announced its 2026 Summer Concert Series. The club has sponsored the series since 2009. It is a fitting project since the series is held at the amphitheater on Deis Hill; the Lions Club built the structure at the park in the late 1950s.

The amphitheater project was started in 1955, but the club kept adding to the project, and it was fully completed in 1958.

The first concert of the season is always a favorite — the Dover High School Steel Drum and Jazz Bands. Then there is a three-week break until the next concert.

The rest of the schedule includes June 18 — Ron Retzer Trio; July 2 — Dominic Greco Concert Band; July 16 — The Hitmen (classic rock); July 30 — Jericho Big Band (American Songbook); and Aug. 13 — Petty Cash (Tom Petty and Johnny Cash tribute band).

The concerts are supported by donations from many local businesses.

Each year, the Lions try to book what they consider the three anchors of their schedule: the Dover High School Steel Drum and Jazz Bands, Jericho Big Band and the Ron Retzer Trio.

“Ron Retzer comes from Brilliant, Ohio, and he’s a member of the Lions, so they come up every year,” Mary Ellen Shearer said.

The summer concert series does not change much from year to year, but the Lions go with what is most popular.

To help with the many community service projects the Lions do throughout the year, they will have their concession trailer at each concert, with snacks available for a donation.

“We volunteer at the food bank, donate to baseball teams, Boy Scouts and the Soapbox Derby,” Steve Sherer said. The club is involved throughout the year in numerous other projects.

Literacy is important to the Lions Club.

“Every year, in the fall, we purchase books for every kindergarten student in the Dover City School District,” Mary Ellen Sherer said. “No matter if they go to Dover or Tuscarawas Central Catholic, because they’re in Dover. We usually buy between 250-300 books so that every student gets a book.”

The club also gives away a scholarship each year to a deserving student.

At one time, the club also was involved in plastic recycling.

“For every 500 pounds of plastic, we could get a bench, but we could only get them every six months,” Mary Ellen Sherer said.

They got other Lions clubs in the county involved, and they ended up getting 27 benches for the community in a two-and-a-half-year period.

“We also provide eyeglasses for Dover residents. We provide eye exams and eyeglasses for somebody in need. So, if anybody needs glasses, they can get a hold of us and we’ll help them out,” Jeff Coyle said.

The group also collects old eyeglasses that it gives to a lab at Ohio State University.

Students use the glasses to learn how to determine the strength of the lenses, and when they are done using them, the glasses are sent to foreign countries where they can be reused.

“They already know what the prescriptions are. They have them in packets, and when they go on mission trips to these countries, they take them and work with them to fit the person the best,” Mary Ellen Sherer said.

The Lions Club also sponsors the popular Halloween and Christmas parades in Dover each year. The group also will participate in the Chocolate Walk June 13.

The main fundraiser of the club is the Lions Rose Day fundraiser, held each year on the last weekend of September.

The Lions Club of Dover was started in October 1944 when six members of the New Philadelphia Lions Club who lived in Dover wanted their town to have its own club. They held their first meeting at the YMCA in downtown Dover. Their first luncheon meeting was held at Grace Lutheran Church. Their charter was approved and presented Dec. 21, 1944.

The Dover Lions Club meets twice monthly. One meeting is a lunch meeting and one meeting is held in the evening. New members are always welcome. More information can be found at e-clubhouse.org/sites/doveroh/page-8.php.