“A Night at the Light,” an event held July 25 at Fort Williams Park featuring the Portland Symphony Orchestra, was attended by more than 3,000 people, according to event organizers.

Organized as part of Cape Elizabeth’s 250th anniversary, the concert “was a fitting tribute to the town’s history and its ongoing commitment to maintaining Fort Williams Park for all to enjoy,” according to a press release from the Cape Elizabeth 250th Anniversary Committee.

The family-friendly concert included classical and patriotic music selected by the orchestra’s music director, Robert Moody. Cape native Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon champion and founder of the annual Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race, which took place Aug. 1 at Fort Williams, made a special guest appearance at the concert. Her speech, which focused on thanking the town for its support of the Beach to Beacon, was followed by a rendition of the “1984 Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” composed for the Olympics in which Samuelson won her historic gold medal.

Though the Portland Symphony Orchestra has a long history of holding concerts at the park, A Night at the Light was the first time the orchestra performed on the field next to Portland Head Light. Most recently, the ensemble held its annual “Independence Pops” concert in 2008, but the event was discontinued due to the lack of funding.

The TD Bank-sponsored event on July 25 was a joint effort of the 250th Anniversary Committee and the nonprofit Fort Williams Park Foundation, which is supporting a series of arboretum projects at Fort Williams, including the construction of a 11?2-acre children?s garden, which is slated to begin next spring.

According to the press release, the concert, in conjunction with ongoing grassroots fundraising efforts, has helped the foundation raise about 90 percent of the $400,000 needed to build the garden.

A Night at the Light is one of several events being planned by the Cape Elizabeth 250th Anniversary Committee as part of a yearlong celebration culminating in the town’s 250th birthday Nov. 1. For more information on upcoming 250th events, visit www.capeelizabeth.com. More information about the Fort Williams Park Foundation’s children’s garden can be found at www.fortwilliams.org.

-Kayla J. Collins

Portland Symphony Orchestra conductor Robert Moody and Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, a native of Cape Elizabeth, at the 250th anniversary concert, July 25.