06-23-2008, 12:21 PM
Big Music Fest 'awesome'
16,000 well-behaved fans pack East Zwicks Park
THE INTELLIGENCER
BY BARRY ELLSWORTH AND STEPHEN PETRICK
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The verdict is in.
Awesome was the word of choice to describe Big Music Fest, which drew 16,000 screaming fans to Belleville's East Zwicks Park to see acts such as The Tragically Hip, the Sam Roberts Band and Sarah Harmer.
"This is awesome," said Jeanie Metcalfe, of Trenton, who was on the edge of the stage with friends Gerri Coulthard and Sharon Fairman of Trenton. "We want more rock 'n roll in Belleville."
Coulthard said she is amazed at how the city has drawn major acts in recent years.
"The Empire Theatre's doing excellent," she said. "We don't have to go to Toronto or Montreal to see a show anymore. It's great."
Added Fairman, "I went to Toronto to see The Hip once. To see them here is cool."
Their sentiments were shared by other fans.
"I think it's awesome," said Rick Dowdall of Wellington, who was at the show with his wife, Tracy, friend Debbie Skalba and two other friends who had travelled from Quebec to see the show. "It helps Belleville, it helps tourism, it helps everything."
Added Skalba, "I'm having a great time with my friends. A big name like The Tragically Hip brings not only Belleville together but the surrounding community."
Concert-goers were not alone in their enthusiasm.
Site manager and organizer David Joyce was nearly dancing with joy Sunday.
"We made a point that we wanted to have a good ... evening and that's what we accomplished," he said, adding the bands played for "an appreciative crowd not being stupid."
The show started just before 4 p. m. with Five Star Trailer park, followed by Attack in Black. By the time Harmer took the stage, at 6 p. m., the crowd was so large it ascended all the way to the top of the Zwicks Park hill.
Sam Roberts followed with an energetic set that got the crowd ready for The Hip, who played a two-hour set, wrapping up the evening between 10:30 and 11 p. m.
Joyce said although there was a concern that 16,000 concert-goers could turn out to be a nightmare for police, there were only a few arrests for public intoxication.
"Things stayed quiet as The Tragically Hip took the stage around 9 p. m.," said Belleville police Staff Sgt. Al Portt. "The large crowd of approximately 16,000 people dispersed peacefully between 10:30 p. m. and 11:30 p. m. once the Hip was finished."
A 44-year-old Wellington man was arrested and charged under the Liquor Licence Act. The same charges were laid against a 26- year-old Muskoka man, a 20-year-old Stirling man and a 26-year-old Lakefield man, police said.
Safety was a key component of the seven-hour concert concert, Joyce said.
"(There were) 75 to 80 security and then approximately 30 police."
Sunday morning, workers were busy cleaning up the site. The hill at Zwicks was littered with water bottles. Two sizable trucks full of the containers were brought in for concert-goers and only about a half-truck of water remained, said a security official.
Two bottles of water sold for $5, and canned beer sold for $5 each, Joyce said. He heard few complaints about price-gouging -- concert-goers could not bring in anything with them for security reasons.
Some naysayers knocked the show beforehand, fearing what was probably the largest single-event crowd gathered in one spot at one time in Belleville's history could get out of hand.
"Don't judge us until it's over," Joyce responded at the time.
Joyce, a Belleville resident who has been on the Waterfront committee and was its chairman in 1999, said because the crowd was so well behaved, the event could well return next year.
"The intent is if the city ... and the citizens of Belleville want it."
16,000 well-behaved fans pack East Zwicks Park
THE INTELLIGENCER
BY BARRY ELLSWORTH AND STEPHEN PETRICK
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1084315">http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisp ... ?e=1084315</a><!-- m -->
The verdict is in.
Awesome was the word of choice to describe Big Music Fest, which drew 16,000 screaming fans to Belleville's East Zwicks Park to see acts such as The Tragically Hip, the Sam Roberts Band and Sarah Harmer.
"This is awesome," said Jeanie Metcalfe, of Trenton, who was on the edge of the stage with friends Gerri Coulthard and Sharon Fairman of Trenton. "We want more rock 'n roll in Belleville."
Coulthard said she is amazed at how the city has drawn major acts in recent years.
"The Empire Theatre's doing excellent," she said. "We don't have to go to Toronto or Montreal to see a show anymore. It's great."
Added Fairman, "I went to Toronto to see The Hip once. To see them here is cool."
Their sentiments were shared by other fans.
"I think it's awesome," said Rick Dowdall of Wellington, who was at the show with his wife, Tracy, friend Debbie Skalba and two other friends who had travelled from Quebec to see the show. "It helps Belleville, it helps tourism, it helps everything."
Added Skalba, "I'm having a great time with my friends. A big name like The Tragically Hip brings not only Belleville together but the surrounding community."
Concert-goers were not alone in their enthusiasm.
Site manager and organizer David Joyce was nearly dancing with joy Sunday.
"We made a point that we wanted to have a good ... evening and that's what we accomplished," he said, adding the bands played for "an appreciative crowd not being stupid."
The show started just before 4 p. m. with Five Star Trailer park, followed by Attack in Black. By the time Harmer took the stage, at 6 p. m., the crowd was so large it ascended all the way to the top of the Zwicks Park hill.
Sam Roberts followed with an energetic set that got the crowd ready for The Hip, who played a two-hour set, wrapping up the evening between 10:30 and 11 p. m.
Joyce said although there was a concern that 16,000 concert-goers could turn out to be a nightmare for police, there were only a few arrests for public intoxication.
"Things stayed quiet as The Tragically Hip took the stage around 9 p. m.," said Belleville police Staff Sgt. Al Portt. "The large crowd of approximately 16,000 people dispersed peacefully between 10:30 p. m. and 11:30 p. m. once the Hip was finished."
A 44-year-old Wellington man was arrested and charged under the Liquor Licence Act. The same charges were laid against a 26- year-old Muskoka man, a 20-year-old Stirling man and a 26-year-old Lakefield man, police said.
Safety was a key component of the seven-hour concert concert, Joyce said.
"(There were) 75 to 80 security and then approximately 30 police."
Sunday morning, workers were busy cleaning up the site. The hill at Zwicks was littered with water bottles. Two sizable trucks full of the containers were brought in for concert-goers and only about a half-truck of water remained, said a security official.
Two bottles of water sold for $5, and canned beer sold for $5 each, Joyce said. He heard few complaints about price-gouging -- concert-goers could not bring in anything with them for security reasons.
Some naysayers knocked the show beforehand, fearing what was probably the largest single-event crowd gathered in one spot at one time in Belleville's history could get out of hand.
"Don't judge us until it's over," Joyce responded at the time.
Joyce, a Belleville resident who has been on the Waterfront committee and was its chairman in 1999, said because the crowd was so well behaved, the event could well return next year.
"The intent is if the city ... and the citizens of Belleville want it."