Summerfest Welcomes Visitors Downtown
Saturday, August 17, 2013 @ 4:21 AM
Prince George, B.C. – Summerfest 2013, the biggest street party of the year in Prince George, is all set to welcome people young and old to the downtown core on Sunday.
Summerfest runs from 11 am to 4 pm tomorrow on Third and Fourth Avenues and Quebec Street, the same location as last year. The event provides great entertainment, the Kids Zone and foods from several assorted restaurants in the city. And business proprietors will have their wares on display in conjunction with the event.
Summerfest organizer Heidi Martel says well-known and respected city resident Ted Moffat will be honored this year with a tribute in the front window of the Northern Hardware store. That’s where the Brownridge Insurance Taste Pavilion will be set up. Martel says “Ted was an avid supporter of the downtown, and Brian Brownridge stressed that the pavilion be run in memory of Ted Moffat.”
Martel says the idea behind the Taste Pavilion is to give people a sample of the various foods being offered by the 18 restaurants taking part. “These aren’t huge portions. What we’re aiming to do is have festival goers try several of the different restaurants. A lot of people may not have tried some of these restaurants at all so this allows them to try something with not a big financial commitment.”
Martel says this year there is participation interest from not only locally-owned establishments but also some national chains. “This is not “fair” food. We’ve got everything from a New York steak with cognac cream sauce to Chinese barbecued chicken skewers. It’s not a hot dog and hamburger kind of day.”
Martel says a large amount of space is dedicated to the Canfor Kids Zone. “We have everything from live fish ponds that kids can actually fish in and take their catch home already cleaned and ready to hit the frying pan. We have the mini-rail from the Railway and Forestry Museum, a demonstration tent which allows people to experience the entertainment hands-on. Our magician is going to be giving a magic class there. About 30 kids will be able to participate at a time. And we have a drumming session there so people can learn how to drum. Exploration Place and the Two Rivers Gallery will also be giving demonstrations, so it should be a fun place to be.”
“Our main stage is bursting with fantastic entertainment. We have magician Clinton W. Gray, our Prince George idol winner, Bryanna Davidson, singing at noon. We have a great Canadian artist, Sean Ashby, coming. He’s played with top artists such as Sarah McLachlan for several years. We are definitely not short of local talent either. We have Highball Riot, Sound Addiction who are always very popular. And we’re going to end the day with Granville (Johnson) and Jeff (Postnikoff) doing a drumming session on stage. So it will end with a bang!”
Martel says Summerfest “is a rain or shine event, so I encourage people to come prepared. You can still enjoy things in the rain. Kids love to run in puddles, and food still tastes good under an umbrella.” With showers in the forecast for Sunday Martel says in the event of a complete downpour “we may see that the inflatable bouncers may not be able to go up, but other than that every other activity will be going.”
Now to avoid long line-ups at the Taste Pavilion you can buy advance tickets today for a buck apiece at the Farmer’s Market in front of the courthouse. Tickets, of course, will also be available at the fest tomorrow.
Comments
Jayden is one of the summerfest specials ….
I do not see Civic Centre mentioned. Is it included?
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