Volleyballers are very pleased with their Summer in the Park tournament. Photos by Jeff Turl.
“We had great weather, we had great entertainment, our downtown was alive, the city was buzzing and the hotels were full. It was a fantastic weekend.”
That how Summer in the Park Festival Chairman John Strang summed up this past Civic holiday weekend.
The committee rolled the dice by switching the location to downtown, instead of previous years of spreading it out along the waterfront.
“We received so many comments on the weekend about the ease of access and general set up, so we’re very pleased. I think the festival has found a new home,” he added. It was very positive from the bars and stores downtown.”
Downtown Improvement Area Executive Director Jeff Serran agrees.
“We had an awesome weekend,” he told BayToday. “It was non-stop right up to Sunday, so it definitely helped having the festival in the same area. Lots of people were going back and forth so it was very beneficial.”
Serran expects to expand the dodge ball event next year and get some road hockey going.
No wristband numbers yet, but Strang has a sense that sales are up from last year.
“Concerts were well attended and we could have the figures as early as next week.”
City police say everyone behaved themselves with only a few minor incidents.
And Strang says people at the Ontario Volleyball Association were “tickled pink”.
“They’re talking about next year already. They want to come in for a week and run some free camps and maybe run a junior tournament as well.
“They’ve really taken a shining to North Bay and the way they were treated. They said they were treated ‘like gold’”.
Entertainers were happy too.
The British rock band Foghat tweeted after their show, thanking the city and saying how “cool” the festival was.
And Friday’s headliner, Dropkick Murphys also enjoyed the experience.
“They loved it,” said Strang who drove them back and forth to the airport. “They were really curious about the city.”
But there’s always room for improvement, and the committee will be sitting down to discuss what worked and what didn’t.
“There were some concerns from a few of the vendors about location, but it’s a work in progress. There were no major problems. The tweaks will be minor.
“Based on feedback we got, the festival has found its new home for sure.”
Strang paid tribute to everyone who helped in the success, “a great group of people---an amazing group. The volunteers worked tirelessly all weekend lugging water and picking up garbage, so they are to be commended for showing visitors to our city what we’re all about.”
And he says he’s enjoyed the experience and will be back for another shot “if they’ll have me.”
