By Janet Cruz

The vibrant community piano that sits in Downtown McCulloch near Hodel Way, is slowly deteriorating and the search to find the right person to help repair it is underway.

Lake Havasu City resident Sonia Gresham is hoping to find a volunteer to make the much needed repairs to the piano so it may continue to be enjoyed by the community.

“The hammers inside the piano attached to the keys, are in need of repair,” Gresham said. “I have all the keys and the hammer pieces, I just need someone who can help with the labor and is skilled at it.”

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Before it was placed in Downtown McCulloch, it all started when Gresham was on a trip in New Hampshire in 2019 when she visited a small town with a friend that had a community piano on the sidewalk where community members and artists can come and play it.

“I thought, ‘Wow. How neat is this? We should bring something similar to Havasu,’ ” Gresham said.

“I was able to then get a piano donated from the music department at Lake Havasu High School, and then I asked permission to the city to be able to place it on Main Street.”

The current piano is the second one which was placed a year ago. This time it was donated by a community member since the piano usually lasts about three years. The first one was replaced with the current one.

Originally, the first piano was going to be placed in a different location, but in the end it was installed near Hodel Way. Gresham says the piano is insured and pays insurance once a year since it is on city property and is required.

In 2019, the community hosted “Dunham’s Magical Night of Music,”  near the piano, which was an event dedicated to the late Lake Havasu Community Choir Director, James Dunham, who had passed away in 2018 after a brief battle with esophageal cancer.

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Dunham served as the Music Director for many years at Grace Episcopal Church located at 111 Bunker Drive before his passing.

“There is a small plaque in his name on it. You can see it when you pass by it,” Gresham said.

“This piano is a gift to the community. Both Lake Havasu High School Choir students, and members of the Lake Havasu Community Choir have sang near this piano and  helped paint it too. Anyone on the street can play it. However, my hope is to get someone to volunteer their time and get it fixed because this piano, once its done, may be the last one we will have,”  Gresham said.

For more information on the piano or to volunteer, contact Sonia Gresham at 619-993-9262.