PORT ANGELES – The Concerts on the Pier will never be the same again.

A roomier stage completed on May 29 will offer theater lighting, better acoustics, handicapped access and a larger windscreen to protect the audience from the wind from both the west and the northwest.

The stage will be dedicated at 6 p.m. today just before the first concert of the 10-concert series begins with Fat Chance, a rock band.

“We’re going to celebrate the new look of the stage and point out the new features that we’ve incorporated into the construction,” said Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, which spearheaded the project.

“We’ll showcase the new lighting. Hopefully the new wind screen will be up.”

The stage, built with lodging tax funds, was constructed through a variety of donations, either materials at cost or reduced labor charges.

“A big part of the dedication is to say thanks to all the contractors, because if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have such a nice facility,” Veenema said.

And the project, budgeted at $20,000, would have cost more, too.

“It looks like we’ll be coming in under budget,” Veenema said.

“The only reason is because the vendors all worked with us. They all reduced their costs either through materials or labor.”