Ticket sales were down to the wire but 925 music lovers came out to the Cariboo Charitable Events Society’s inaugural Party in the Park concert.
Featuring the musical talents of the Chris Buck Band, Elyse Saunders and country music star Aaron Pritchett the concert proved to be a lively one, with dozens of people taking to the dance floor. CCES secretary Neale Ward said the event was a success for the newly founded charity.
“Everything fell into place. Production finished up their setup on Friday, we had beer from all the Cariboo breweries ready to be served, it was quite the event,” Ward said. “It was a little bit surreal. A lot of people have said this is the biggest concert to happen in 100 Mile and it was a proper concert with lighting, sound and staging.”
All profits from the event will be donated to the 100 Mile Senior Housing Society. Ward said they won’t know for two weeks how much money they raised but he is hopeful between ticket sales, beer sales and the 50/50 raffle it’s a few thousand dollars.
Mayor Maureen Pinkney thought the event was “absolutely fantastic.” She said the community is lucky that so many of its residents give their time to organize events like this.
“To bring an event like this to the town and raise money for a seniors project is just fabulous,” Pinkney said. “I’m beaming with pride, our community is truly amazing.”
Pinkney noted the turnout for the concert was incredible considering that there were several competing events on Canada Day. Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson said 5,000 people attended the Williams Lake Stampede while the Bridge Lake Stampede saw close to 2,000 people attend.
“To see this event packed, it tells me that there is no question that the Western culture is alive in the Cariboo Chilcotin,” Doerkson said.
Saunders said she enjoyed the vibe of the concert, noting this is her first time performing in 100 Mile House. Over the last decade, she has made a name for herself in the country music scene and was flattered the CCES invited her.
“It feels like a family here. It’s such a beautiful community and everyone’s been so nice,” Saunders said. “The band and I had such a fun time and it’s been such an adventure meeting everybody. It’s going to be one of those shows I’ll never forget.”
Saunders added that if the CCES wants to have her back for next year, she’s down.
Ward said the CCES is already thinking about how they can improve the event. One thing they’d like to see is more people buying tickets ahead of time, noting that many of their ticket sales took place on Canada Day itself.
“In order to make these events successful we need people to come out earlier so we can get all the bills paid before the event happens,” Ward said. “Even if we just break even this year, we can grow this event next year to maybe a full-day music festival. It’s the route we want to go down and we want to gain that momentum.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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