Fraze Pavilion — Local services in Kettering

Fraze Pavillion is an event venue that has an ampitheater and an adjacent landscaped area. Most events such as concerts are performed in the ampitheater with access to restrooms and a concession area. The nicer seats, plaza and orchestra, are near the stage. The lawn seating is behind the orchestra and the terrace seats, a large metal bench structure is behind the lawn. You can bring blankets and rent padded seats for the lawn. You can bring blankets and cushions for the terrace. For the big name acts the sound is usually very good, especially when the Dayton Philharmonic has accompanied the performer. For the lesser known acts, the sound can be too loud and shrill so bringing some earplugs can help. You may want to bring a poncho in case of rain. The festivals do not use the ampitheater, the bands set up somewhere around the fountains. For these events, lawn chairs are allowed and it is a good idea to bring them if the festival is crowded. The sound quality for those vary widely, so again being some earplugs are a good idea. Fraze's main problem is the potential for long lines. For a big name concert act, the wait to pass through security can be 30 minutes or more. This year (2019) each person is subjected to a metal detector, then their ticket is scanned, and then a wristband is put on your arm. Most festivals have the same procedure. The worst unresolved problem are extremely long lines for the concessions. It is not always a problem (e.g. Franki Valli), but for the performers who a attract a younger or rowdier audience (e.g. Get the Led Out), it is always a problem. You can wait an hour for a warm foil wrapped sandwich and a ten dollar beer. Plan to miss part of the show. And it seems to be getting worse each year. The festivals can be very crowded, but I have noticed that those in later summer are less crowded. Most festivals labelled as 'Free Festival" also have the security entrances and the staff is quite vigilant. My wife and I attended the "Festival of the Vine" this year. It was one of the free festivals and poorly attended. There were no lines or crowds when we were there in the afternoon. As we were folding up our lawn chairs preparing to leave, a staff member accosted us and accused us of sneaking in. The absurdity of this was beyond measure (the festival was free, there were no lines or crowds, our arm-bands plainly visible). We remained calm and told her that we have armbands and pointed to them attached to our arms. She abruptly left. I feel fortunate that it did not escalate into a law enforcement response against us. A very enjoyable event is "Art on the Commons" where local artists display their work for sale amid a backdrop of music and refreshments. And best of all, there is no security perimeter and very few Fraze staffers. So you can just walk in and walk out like an adult and enjoy yourself without...

The only reason I would consider giving the venue more stars is because it truly is a cute place, and it's kept very clean. Other than that I have a HUGE complaint:

The security policies are absolutely ridiculous and the workers take themselves way too seriously. I travel all over the country and visit LARGE amphitheaters and stadiums for different concerts, and I have never seen people so strict or rude. I completely understand policies like "no backpacks" and what not, and I understand that these people are just trying to do their job, but come on. My purse with all of it's contents in it WERE within the size constraints, but when the security person made me take my poncho out my purse flattened out and went over the 12" constraint by a half inch. So I purchased one of their clear plastic bags for $5 and put my purse into it, and IT FIT! They wouldn't allow it. No matter how much I pleaded they wouldn't let it in, and they made me walk all the way back to my car. Who says you can police what I put in my 12x12x6 clear plastic bag? I wasn't breaking any other policies and I wasn't taking in anything on the prohibited list. Seriously - what am I going to do with a 12.5 inch purse that would cause a security threat?! Please use common sense and be cool.

Not to mention - I saw people with zip-up blankets that were WAAAY over 12 inches. Couldn't you call that a purse? How is that even fair???

It makes me so sad to give this place a bad review. I love that it's so close to home, and I like I mentioned it really is a cute venue. Please consider easing up on your policies and teach your employees to use...

Ringo Starr and The All-Starr band. The band was great. Sounded amazing but we never saw them. This was our first time at Fraze. This venue needs to reevaluate the ADA sections. We did NOT see the band at all. Not once. We were in the terrace ADA section and the people in the lawn section were standing the entire time. Other people stood behind the lawn section in front of us so we literally never once saw the band. Many of us were complaining and nothing was done to make the people either sit or move. There were people standing on the concrete and not on the lawn. I understand people stand and dance. But yet when I tried to go over to the curved brick wall in the center where other wheelchairs were to get pictures or video I was told I couldn't be there and to return to my section. I saw so many people move to sections that they weren't originally at. Why was I told to move trying to get any pics and the people who on the walkway were not told to move? It was so upsetting to pay $160+ and not once see the band. Something needs to change. There needs to be better viewing areas for the handicap. We felt discriminated against for being handicap. The pictures below was our view. Please fix this issue. It was so disappointing for many of us there. The people standing in front of us saw that we were in wheelchairs and didn't care one bit that they were blocking our view. Please figure out a better way for handicap people to feel included, not excluded and discriminated against. I can't believe we never once actually saw the band we waited...