The rituals of summer are getting under way, and for many Minneapolitans that includes the free weekend concerts offered by the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra at the Lake Harriet Bandshell.

The weekend concerts kick off Saturday and continue every Saturday and Sunday through the end of July. Except for the memories of the most ancient, the concerts seem to have been around forever, like the season. But in fact, this is the 60th year.

"It’s the only paid professional orchestra founded specifically to provide free concerts," said Georgia Bailey, the orchestra’s current secretary and treasurer. When she said that, there was a surge of pride in her voice.

And it is pretty remarkable. The 45-member orchestra includes members of top-rated groups, such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, plus music teachers, pit-band players from local theaters and retired musicians. While the current orchestra was founded in 1950, it’s part of a tradition that goes all the way back to the 19th century, when streetcar companies hired bands to lure potential customers to the lake on the outskirts of Minneapolis.

Jere Lantz has been the orchestra’s conductor for the past 22 years. Previous conductors have included Philip Brunelle, the founder of VocalEssence, and Frederick Fennell when he was associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra (then the Minneapolis Symphony) in the early 1960s.

Actually, you need professional attitudes and talents to make things work. In one weekly three-hour rehearsal, the orchestra puts together two separate Saturday and Sunday programs, mostly of eclectic literature organized into sometimes off-beat themes. This year, for example, each of the programs will have something to do with the 60th-year theme, such as music by composers who never made it to 60.

"The informality of it is what makes it so pleasurable," Bailey said, adding that she’s made it past 60, yet started attending Minneapolis Pops Orchestra concerts as a little girl. Over time, traditions have grown up -- such as the use of umbrellas during rainy-night performances, where audience members pump them open and shut to register appreciation. Lantz calls it "Lake Harriet applause."

Saturday’s kickoff concert at 7:30 p.m. is billed as a "Preview Potpourri," featuring music that will be heard again in upcoming programs. On the bill are works by Wagner, Ives, Strauss, Gershwin and Tchaikovsky. Most of the month-long season will take place at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, with the exception of some programs at the Nicollet Island Pavilion and one on July 21 at Elliot Park. For the full schedule, go here.