COOLERS ARE PROHIBITED IN THE CONCERT AREA. PLEASE LEAVE THEM HOME.

Coolers not welcome @ Stamford concerts

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By Mark Ginocchio Staff Writer
Published June 20 2007
STAMFORD - Summer concertgoers are encouraged to bring their dancing shoes to Columbus Park when Alive @ Five returns this week, but they must leave their coolers at home.Citing a problem last summer with underage drinking and fake IDs, Downtown Special Service District officials said beverage coolers will be prohibited from the park this season as Sister Hazel kicks off the 12th annual Alive @ Five concert series at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

"Last year, people would bring their cooler bags, and then hand beer out to their underage friends," said Sandra Goldstein, executive director of the DSSD.The group collected more than 1,000 fake IDs over the six weeks of concerts last year, Goldstein said, "so this was the logical thing for us to do."The Parks and Recreation Commission approved the ban, which Stamford police support because it will help them with enforcement."Underage drinking is a concern of ours, and we certainly don't want it happening at Alive @ Five," Lt. Sean Cooney said. "It was becoming very difficult for us to enforce."During one show last year, police caught more than a dozen minors drinking, Cooney said.For tomorrow's show, checkpoints will be set up to collect cooler bags, Goldstein said. She expects some grumbling from concertgoers, but "we did some research and this is standard operating procedure," Goldstein said.This year's Alive @ Five is being promoted as the biggest yet. After Sister Hazel - which broke out in the mid-1990s with its hit "All For You" - performances will include the Neville Brothers, Colin Hay of Men at Work, the Subdudes, the New Cars featuring Todd Rundgren and the NYC Hit Squad.The series wraps up Aug. 9 with "American Pie" singer Don McLean.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-coolers5jun20,0,4325533.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines