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| Be careful during festival season |
Collingwood, Ontario has long now been renowned for its
Elvis Festival, this year
July 23-26, and in fact
I performed there and competed a few years back. Another story for another day. Let's just say they entered me in the wrong category. Lol. But I do recall being intrigued by the pop-up
Elvis paraphernalia shops, and street corner side-burns selling vendors, and the general atmosphere that grasped the theme and embraced it. As I'd walked around town in my
Elvis attire I frickin felt like
Elvis the way I was treated, feeling an obligation almost to stay in character, at one time having a group of dozens of visiting Japanese tourists wanting a group shot. It was maniacal!
There all types of festivals, themed after as many themes as you can imagine, Blues, Jazz, Comedy, but in the end the most imaginative, and ones that best stick to a theme with a broad range of possible attendees win out. They will attract the better acts long run and that in turn will grow attendance.
And no one type is immune to losing its perch either. The (Toronto)
Beaches Jazz Festival, this year being held July 10-26, has never again reached its lofty attendee perch once attained although they are hanging in there, and the always edgy
EdgeFest is a hanger onner event still.
Going north,
Aurora has a seemingly endless festival season also including a
Jazz,
Winter Blues and annual outdoor
BBQ Ribs Festival which includes top notch entertainment while Barrie has its
Kempenfest July 31 - Aug 3.
Newmarket also has its
TD Jazz+ Festival upcoming July 31, 1, 2, 3 and it's
grown in leaps and bounds since its inception a few years ago. Adding the
+ has opened it up to a broader range of music and talent, and kept skeptics of it not being a jazz festival, like me originally, at bey.
Markham had their festival June 19, 20 while Unionville's was June 4, 5, 6, however their Thursday night's Music in the Park by
Unionville Presents, sports a superb level of talented, mostly clone type acts, including recently
The Caverners who cover
The Beatles.
The Caverners did a superb job with their 60's mop top era version of
The Beatles on this night, and looking around at the diverse crowd, including diversity in ages, one could envision an entire festival around them. People just couldn't sit still, and the on-stage persona of the talented band helped perpetuate the mystical feeling.
Their suberb vocal abilities and spot on instrument play, along side the lookalike factor, sure made for a great time. Orillia Ontario has recognized the potential, hosting a competing festival with Collingwood's Elvis Fest, with a
Beatle mania type event, July 24, 25, 2 6 in 2015. The whole strip gets into it including a store dedicated to The Beatles and stages featuring some top Beatles-like performers. As John might say, "Imagine that!"
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| Adorning, what else, a tax place! |
Tombits:
For a complete listing of Ontario's festivals see this link.
BeatleMAINia Possibilities!
Imagine on top of a
headliner that an entire
Main St is wrapped in this theme now - street vendors in theme, shopkeepers, yoga booths, leather, crafts, art, aboriginal, 60's collectables, genre T-shirts, records, local bars becoming the famous Cavern Club for a night...it's endless...and exciting!
Watch for
TPE updates on
BeatleMAINia 2016!
BeatleMainia coming to a Main St near you!
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Picture YOU here!
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| The Beatles loved Elvis! Thank-you...Thank-you very muches! |
