Music in Gold Star Park returns — now with less concrete

Thanks to one civic-minded bachelor, a 600 square foot section of concrete was removed from Gold Star Park on the 600 block of Wharton Street last month, providing a little extra natural surrounding for the summer music series that starts tomorrow.

On May 3 Tom Halliwell, a worker at the Philadelphia Water Department, gathered up his buddies for his bachelor party to depave an area that’s adjacent to the play structure, said a friend of the park. He had a dumpster delivered at his expense to dispose of the asphalt, and they dug up the ground under the pavement and lay grass seed.

The depaving is intended to divert stormwater run-off from the sewer system, which pairs with several efforts by the department to increase impervious surfaces, like the rain garden at 12th and Reed.

But back to the concert. The concert tomorrow, starting at 7 p.m., features Trinidelphia, which is billed as “our city’s preeminent Caribbean music ensemble.” Check here for more info about the park.