In the final Osoyoos Music in the Park concert of the season, Flashback played vintage rock ‘n roll at the Royal Canadian Legion last Friday night. Most of the free concerts have been held at the Gyro Bandshell, but with rain in the forecast, the concert was moved to the Legion. Flashback, from Penticton, had many people up and dancing. (Richard McGuire photo)
The crowd may not have been as big as some of the earlier Osoyoos Music in the Park concerts, but those who turned out at the Royal Canadian Legion for the final concert on Friday night seemed to be having a great time.
For the second time this summer, the concert was moved from the Gyro Park bandshell to the Legion because of a rain forecast.
With lights turned down low and couples dancing to Elvis and other rock ‘n roll classics played by Penticton vintage band Flashback, the Legion was an appropriate venue.
Part of what has made the concert series so successful in its inaugural year is that it has appealed to a wide range of music tastes – from folk to country to jazz to blues.
The most popular concert of the summer was the Royal Canadian Navy Band from Esquimalt, drawing about 300 people, said Janis St. Louis, one member of the “Three Amigos” who pulled the concerts together.
The other two organizers are Rusty Copeland, who performed himself, and Alan Bleiken.
“It was like throwing a party and not being sure how many people would show up,” said St. Louis, who had no idea what kind of numbers would turn out for the free concerts at the bandshell.
“We’re quite pleased with the number of people who turned out and how they’ve responded to the music,” she said. “We’re pretty happy about it.”
It took a while for the word to get out at first when the series kicked off on July 3, but once it got going, there were typically 200 to 250 people, St. Louis said.
The three are already meeting to discuss bringing Osoyoos Music in the Park back next year.
This year’s budget was just $4,000, from which the organizers had to buy liability insurance before using what was left to pay musicians. The money came from B.C. Resort Municipalities funding through the Town of Osoyoos.
St. Louis said she hopes that next year the event can be organized under the umbrella of another community group so that she doesn’t need to handle the financing through her personal account, as she did this year, or go through the steps of setting up a non-profit organization.
This might also make it easier to attract sponsorships, she said.
The three pointed out that with additional funding from sponsorships, they could have more funds to attract bands and might consider starting the season earlier, perhaps in June.
Copeland hopes to keep the performers local, meaning from the Okanagan and areas to the east and west of Osoyoos.
As a result of the concerts, many people came forward with suggestions of other groups that might play in the future, said St. Louis.
“We’ve got a lot of different new names to look at,” she said, adding that some of these might also play in the future at Market on Main, which she also helps to organize.
The group is hoping to get feedback from people who attended this year’s concerts.
They have a Facebook page and you can contact them by email at: [email protected].
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
