People start pouring into Conner Prairie shortly before the gates open at 6:30 p.m. They know that if you don’t make an evening of Symphony on the Prairie into a capital-E Experience, you can’t enjoy it to the fullest.

For about 90 minutes, there was a polite rush to find a spot to settle in front of the amphitheater. The lush, sloping lawn gradually filled up with concertgoers of all ages, most in tie-dyed T-shirts. It was perfect attire for the June 20 opening of Symphony on the Prairie’s 28th season — Lee Johnson’s “Dead Symphony No. 6.”

Paul and Jean Tinch are as hard-core as it gets at Symphony on the Prairie. The Connersville couple has been coming to these concerts for about 20 years, and they’ve witnessed their growing popularity.

According to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, attendance has more than tripled since 1982, when 24,000 attended, to 96,000 last year. And the ISO’s Fourth of July concerts are among the most popular, drawing about 10,000 patrons to each performance.

“We’re here almost every weekend in the summer,” said Jean. “We can’t get to the symphony in the winter. It’s an hour-and-a-half to two-hour drive. So this is our symphony.”

The Tinches set up a first-class picnic with good flatware and table settings — complete with bouquet. They spread a tarpaulin over the area they’ve claimed for the evening, and bring discreet umbrellas to set up when the evening sun is hot and bright.

With friends Steve and Norma Smitley from Richmond, the Tinches began the evening with shrimp cocktail in shot glasses. For the main entre: Pork medallions with mustard sauce, a corn salad and sweet potatoes in a vinaigrette — all complemented by a Meditrin wine, a red from Oregon that blends pinot noir, zinfandel and syrah. For dessert, Norma has made cappuccino brownies.

Symphony on the Prairie experiments with a wider range of music — from classical to Queen — and is designed to bring in a different audience than the one that comes to Hilbert Circle Theater, said ISO spokesman Tim Northcutt. It’s accessible, with a type of programming that breaks down a lot of barriers.

The Grateful Dead show is what brought Jim and Marsha Rector from Noblesville to Symphony on the Prairie for the first time. Before the concert, the couple was relaxing in lawn chairs near the crest of the hill. Their 13-year-old grandson, Tristan, chilled out nearby.

We were talking about coming on a regular basis, said Jim, sporting a Grateful Dead souvenir T-shirt.

This won’t be the last, said his wife, who said she only knew Conner Prairie as a living history museum before friends told them about Symphony on the Prairie.

Strolling in from the VIP parking lot, two women from Muncie had come down largely because of their connection with Marsh Supermarkets, the series’ sponsor. It’s our first time here. We’ll be back for the Fourth of July, Leslie Hobbs said.

And for Queen, said her friend, Jamie Smith, referring to the ISO tribute program of Aug. 14 and 15. Definitely.

Because her late father loved bluegrass music, Jean Tinch is most looking forward to Time for Three, the string trio including ISO concertmaster Zach De Pue (From Bach to Bluegrass, July 10 and 11).

I still love Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and hope they always play that — music that’s stood the test of time. But they do a great job of mixing things up and appealing to a large audience. They’re very creative.