A first time event is hoping to make a big splash in Parksville’s Community Park this weekend, with live music from popular groups and musicians from around the Island and Vancouver.
It’s called the Big Splash Entertainment Weekend, a sidebar to the Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition and Exhibition, where 10 acts will take the place of the month long festival’s usual Music in the Park event.
Event manager Trish Smith said the gazebo where music has been played in the past was not an ideal venue so the Beach Festival Society thought they’d step it up a notch.
“We thought, in order to do this right, we really need to move it to a stage,” she said.
Because of the expense of bringing in a stage, sound system, security and so on, the society couldn’t offer the music every weekend and so chose this weekend for all 10 performers to entertain.
Smith said the call out for artists garnered a huge amount of attention and the society settled on a variety of musical styles to appeal to all ages.
Younger crowds will not want to miss Friday’s ska, punk rock, reggae, funk band The Kiltlifters, beginning at 3 p.m., followed by ’80s rock/pop and oldies group Johnny Inappropriate and 11-member party group Time Well Wasted playing R&B, soul and classic rock.
Saturday is a mixture of sounds, starting at 1 p.m. with some Latin, flamenco and rock from Eric Harper, ‘60s hits with Younger Than Yesterday, country music from Montgomery County and ‘70s rock from That ‘70s Band. The gates to the sand sculptures will be open an hour after the concert Saturday, until 10 p.m.
Sunday will see adult contemporary rock from Counting Time at 1 p.m. followed by a performance by comedian Greg Kettner and Elvis impersonator Scott MacDonald will be back by popular demand at 4 p.m., even though the same entertainers do not usually return in consecutive years, said Smith.
“We got so many people calling and saying, ‘Hey, are you having the Elvis guy back? When’s he coming?’” she said. “…so we brought him back.”
The Pony Club will headline Sunday at 6 p.m. with contemporary country like Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.
Smith said attendance will depend on weather but organizers predict somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 per day.
The Big Splash Entertainment Weekend is free to attend and meant to be a thank-you to the community from the Beach Festival Society for continued support. The cost for the weekend show is close to $20,000 however, so a bucket will be passed around for donations.
Proceeds collected at the gate from the Sand Sculpting Competition go to the non-profit groups helping out, and 25 per cent goes to the community. Left over money goes to improving Community Park and this year could mark the beginning of a large project.
“We’d love to contribute to building a more a permanent stage structure down (in Community Park),” said Smith. “It will take a few years to fundraise for that but that would be our ultimate goal.”
For more information about the Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition and Exhibition and the Big Splash Entertainment Weekend visit www.parksvillebeachfest.ca or call 250-951-2678.
