It’s not every day that residents of Beaufort County are treated to a concert of North Carolina Symphony caliber, but for three years running, that’s exactly what has happened: a free concert to which everyone’s invited.

On June 15, the symphony will play at Festival Park in Washington, thanks to its main sponsorship by PotashCorp-Aurora. While the symphony’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m., there will be plenty to do beforehand, according to Catherine Glover, executive director of the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce — especially for those who’d like to chip in to support the event.

To that end, the Chamber is selling tickets to a pre-symphony, “Meet the Conductor” reception. The reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., in a tent on Festival Park grounds, as the Greenville-based Emerald City Big Band plays on the Main Stage. With each $35 ticket comes a meet-and-greet with the symphony conductor, a reserved seat near the stage during the symphony’s performance, food catered by the downtown restaurant The Meeting Place and beverages — as well as a chance to donate to the cause of keeping the performances coming, Glover said.

While PotashCorp-Aurora sponsors the symphony, the Chamber, through other sponsorships and donations, must pay for the infrastructure required for the performance: the immense covered stage, lighting, seating and more — which does come cheap, Glover said.

“(The reception) helps pay for the amenities for the symphony,” Glover said. “We just want to break even, so we can continue to have the symphony come. … It is good for us because it brings an opportunity here that a lot of people don’t have the chance to witness or hear, right to our waterfront. It brings us culture. And it’s free, so that means even young kids, all the way up to any age, can come and see a free symphony concert.”

In addition to the sale of reception tickets, sponsorships are offered starting at $200, Glover said.

For those with children, symphony staff and musicians will hold an “Instrument Zoo,” at 6 p.m. in Festival Park’s smaller gazebo, in which those with a musical bent can try out different instruments, many of which local children may have never seen or heard before, Glover said.

Though light rain was a part of last year’s performance, Glover said organizers are hoping for sunny skies on June 15. In case of bad weather, however, there is a backup plan: the ticketed reception will be held at the Meeting Place and the symphony performance will moved indoors to Washington High School’s Performing Arts Center — those with reception tickets will also have reserved seating.

To purchase tickets to the reception, visit the Chamber office at 102 Stewart Parkway, 252-946-9168.