People were rockin’ the downtown Saturday at a family-friendly block party hosted by the North Bay Real Estate Board.
Rocktoberfest chair, and realtor Cheryl Rainey, explained that the event was all about giving back to the community.
“We wanted something where everybody could come together and we’re trying to keep everything fairly local from the bands to the breweries, to the food and events for the kids.”
Eight bands played everything from rock to folk, throughout the eight-hour festival.
Admission was free, the only cost was to those wanting to partake in the breweries.
Non-perishable food items were accepted on behalf of the North Bay Food Bank, and monetary donations were collected for PADDLE, (Providing Adults with Developmental Disabilities Lifelong Experiences).
“This is our second year for Rocktoberfest. We had a very good turnout last year. We organized it really fast, so not as many people knew about it last year compared to this year,” said Rainey.
“Once again we’re trying to do something for every age group. We have a bouncy castle, we have a choir, and people could learn to play the ukulele, fun things like that.”
Michelle Carson and her daughter Freya enjoyed walking among the vendors and listening to the music.
Freya especially liked getting a unicorn made out of balloons and jumping in the bouncy castle.
“We’re spending some girl time here. I think this is great for North Bay. Hopefully next year it will expand into more vendors, and craft breweries. For the second year, I think it’s great,” said Michelle.
Sully Sullivan liked the positive atmosphere.
“I’m loving it. I love craft beer, and I love local live music, so the combination of the two is heaven. I think the organizers have done a great job including everybody. It’s good to have the whole community supporting one major event like this in downtown North Bay.”
Musician Caley Campbell plays in the band Main Street Echo. He is back performing again this year.
“It’s nice to see that they’re set up for children and families, and it’s nice to see that local bands are playing. It’s a really nice atmosphere to be a part of. This year it has gotten bigger, so the event is gaining traction, and hopefully, we can continue to keep it going. It’s nice that North Bay has something like this to get people out because it’s important. It’s great for the community, it’s good for the downtown. So, thanks to the people who organized it and financed it, because I know it’s a lot of work.”
