When events were allowed to go ahead again, Timmins Festivals and Events Committee (TFEC) wanted to be the first people to hit the ground running.
Norm Dwyer said they did that this past weekend.
Rock on the River Reconnect took over a section of Hollinger Park on Oct. 1 and 2. Thousands of people showed up over the two days to catch the eight acts, including a regional performer to kick off each night and headliners the Arkells and The Glorious Sons.
“It was successful for sure. Of course, the weather didn’t co-operate the way we would have loved it to,” said Dwyer.
Even with torrential downpours on Friday night, over 1,800 people took in the concert. Saturday's attendance was just over 1,600.
“They loved it. This is going to be something that people talk about, hopefully, for a long time. The great mud pit of Rock on the River 2021 and people just made the best of it. People were having a good time falling around in the mud and pulling their friends out and falling in themselves,” he said.
To deal with the mud on-site, the community came together after the first night.
About 140 bales of straw were laid down on the ground ahead of Saturday's show.
This is the first festival TFEC has had since 2019's Rock on the River.
Traditionally held in July, the October concert came about after the group received $250,000 from Ontario's Reconnect Festival and Event Program. The cash came with a timeframe that it had to be spent in.
While the pandemic has changed the game for organizing events, Dwyer hopes being able to put together an October show is a good sign of things to come.
“If we’re allowed to, we’re having one, 100 per cent,” he said about next year's festival.
