BI Parks to name concert series, office after longtime director
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Two staples of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District will honor a longtime former parks leader starting this summer.
Going forward, BIMPRD’s popular music-in-the-park concert series will be renamed to “Terry’s Sounds of Summer,” in honor of Terry Lande, who retired as parks director in 2024. Additionally, the new parks office at Strawberry Hill Park will be the Lande Administration Building.
“As executive director for more than two decades, Terry Lande led the BIMPRD from a small, underfunded rural agency to the second-largest metropolitan park district in the state,” said executive director Dan Hamlin. “[He] led by example, and his efforts were extraordinary. He consistently stayed out of the spotlight, not out of shyness but because he knew he was part of something bigger than himself, and he was already focused on preparing for what was next.”
Over 20 years, Lande’s work as director shaped many aspects of the parkscape and public recreation facilities on Bainbridge. He oversaw the ownership transfer of Fort Ward and Fay Bainbridge Parks to BIMPRD; was instrumental in acquiring the BI Recreation Center for the district; expanded the size and talent of the “Sounds of Summer” concert series and relocated it to Battle Point Park; created the “Haunted Hayride”; and paved the way for two inclusive playgrounds.
Commissioner Tom Goodlin explained that Lande’s focus on social events and community gathering spaces was a reflection of his values.
“Here’s a person who loves music, and he wanted to create events that could bring the public together,” Goodlin said in a June 2024 interview with the Review. “He was clear that it was important for the park district to hold those events free of charge so that it was a way of celebrating with the island and saying thanks to the island residents for all the support that they provide.”
Lande also wrote the civic initiative to convert the park’s funding strategy from a levy system to one based on property taxes, which financially stabilized the district and allowed it to expand both its programming and parkland.
In January, district commissioners formed a seven-person citizen advisory committee to compile recommendations for ways to formally recognize Lande. The group reviewed Lande’s work at BIMPRD and distilled its options: name a building after him; name the summer concert series and the amphitheater at Battle Point Park; or just name the concert series. Commissioners opted to name the new administrative building and the concert series at the May 15 board meeting.
This process was the district’s second attempt to honor the former director; in fall 2024, parks leaders proposed that the BI Recreation Center be named after Lande, but commissioners tabled the idea until January 2025 after members of the public called for more community involvement. The action remained a priority for parks leadership, and the citizen advisory committee was formed.
“If you are going to honor someone, it’s nice to do it while they are still alive to receive the gratitude and enjoy it,” Commissioner Jay Kinney said at the January board meeting.
