Summer in the Park just a month away

This year's Summer in the Park Festival was a topic of conversation during Tuesday evening's council meeting.

Numerous by-law exemptions and permits needed to be given the okay by council in order for the festival to proceed smoothly.

Community Services Committee Chair, Councillor Dave Mendicino, spoke to the fact that the $30 tickets (increasing to $40 soon) will now gain the purchaser entry into a new venue.

The new location, while near the old site, is going to be located on the former rail lands, in the community waterfront park, which is right beside Heritage museum.

Mendicino says that when the waterfront park was developed, a concert bowl was in the plans and now that the majority of the park is completed, the promoters are able to hold the concert in that area.

One of the benefits of this is that Memorial Drive will remain open all the way down to Lee Park, as well as the Kate Pace Way, which had to be blocked off.

This will also allow the accommodation of the carousal and train ride, which had been shut down in previous years, to continue operations throughout the busy August long weekend.

Boaters will also be able to come and go around the area as they please.

In addition to the announced concerts, featuring musical acts Meatloaf on Saturday night and Marianna's Trench on Friday evening, an additional act was recently added to the lineup.

Downchild, an iconic Canadian ensemble, will take to the stage early Saturday evening, loosening up the crowd with their signature Rhythm and Blues sound, along with their upbeat grooves.

The band is legendary throughout the Blues Rock community as their distinct musical style has been popular for many decades.

Radio superstar Meatloaf, finally able to grace the stage on Saturday night, is well known for his intense performances and vocal presentation.

Originally rumored to be a headlining act a few years ago, some North Bay residents were left disappointed when it was revealed that he had accidentally been double booked to perform at another festival that same evening in the U.S.

Marianas Trench, the pop group sensation who originated from Vancouver, is part of Nickleback's Chad Kroegar stable of signed acts.

Tickets to the concert event have been selling steadily and are no doubt about to be in high demand as people who have attended in the past seem to want to be able to jump onto the bandwagon at the very last minute.

Mendicino says the new venue location will bring a new set of logistics and layout to the event so be prepared that this year's event will be unlike any other and, in many ways, bigger and better.

"All in all, it's rounding out to be a pretty exciting weekend", he says.

Details regarding parking and access points have yet to be released.

Stay tuned to baytoday.ca for information and updates for the upcoming event.