Summer in the Park 2012 deemed a success

The buzz is back!

That was the talk amongst Summer in the Park organizers, council and residents alike regarding this year's Summer in the Park festival.

A conclusive report on this past year's Summer in the Park was presented to council on Monday evening.

Highlights of the extensive and detailed summary were discussed and an increase in wristband sales was seen, indicating that the organizers are on the right track to continue developing this feature of the Summer tourist season.

S.I.T.P Committee organizer and Chair Jake Lacourse was happy to report the numbers, which were up from last year despite the unfortunate cancellation of Saturday's evening concert lineup, due to bad weather.
Lacourse reported that the event gained a net surplus of 23,000 dollars with 8700 wristbands sold, indicating that the festival was indeed a success and should continue to be an economic benefit to the city.

Asking council again for continued funding to the tune of 40,000 dollars, Lacourse pointed to the need to get to work, booking acts early as a key component to successfully securing the harder to get and more in demand musical acts that are the backbone of the festival.

Although a request was made to permanently add the city's portion of funding to the annual budget's going forward in 2014 and 2015, his request was denied as council says that it would like to keep a close eye on the event and ensure that it continues to serve its purpose in the community, generating tourism.

Mayor Al McDonald was quick to point out it's a must see event and hard to deny that it is again growing in popularity as festival goers from far away and many locals took their well-deserved vacations to take in the event.

“I think it's something that we need to support and it's a great investment in our community,” says McDonald.

“Obviously, they've shown that they are fiscally responsible, so we have all the confidence in the world that it will continue down the right path,” he says.

Now that the event is going ahead again next year, local residents should begin to speculate as to which entertainment acts would be best suited for the city and will be enjoyed by all.