There will be music in the park this summer, though there are some changes to the lineup.
Organizers are proposing five concerts for the 2023 series. The shows would be on Wednesdays at Hollinger Park every second week. There are no shows in Porcupine at Bannerman Park.
Peter Lawryniw talked to Timmins council about the plans this week and has some asks from the city.
To stage the shows, the group is asking for Hollinger Park for 10 weeks starting at the end of June. The alternating Wednesday would be reserved for shows postponed by weather or other unforeseen circumstances. They also asked for the city to take care of the garbage and bathrooms, provide the same promotional material and mentions in city publications, provide electricity and cover the cost of insurance, which they anticipate to be about $1,000.
From Tourism Timmins, Lawryniw asked for them to be at the series to gather community feedback and give a debrief on it at the end of the year, add a link to the series on its websites, and promote the event in its publications.
In the past, the series has also run at Bannerman Park on the shores of Porcupine Lake.
"Bannerman Park is situated on the side of the most major road going through there and we had a huge issue with the port-a-potty situation last year, they didn’t show up in time … but the alternative bathroom for anybody attending the concert that evening was a five-minute drive down the road to Tim Hortons, which was completely unsuitable,” Lawryniw told council.
To have concerts in the east end of town, Lawryniw said they need an appropriate venue, an agreement for port-a-potties, sufficient accommodations for artists travelling there, a sufficient alternate venue in case of bad weather and funding to cover the cost for staff and artists.
"We’ve been doing the fundraising ourselves for about two months now with a little bit of help from Guy Lamarche,” he said.
“We’ve secured just enough to do the five concerts that we’ve put forward."
On the weeks the concerts aren't running at Hollinger Park, Lawryniw said that the Schumacher Lions Club is putting on their concert series at their park near the McIntyre Community Building.
With work starting on a permanent, roofed building at the Mountjoy Farmers' Market soon, Coun. Rock Whissell suggested that site for a potential location for additional concerts.
While a decision on the requests wasn't made at this week's meeting, councillors spoke in favour of the asks and working with the group to make sure the concerts move ahead.
