Singing through the summer

Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society brings back concert series

Free outdoor concerts are returning to the Lunenburg Bandshell this summer.

Saturdays in the Park is a weekly outdoor event that began during the pandemic as a way for the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society to provide live music when Public Health measures were restricting indoor concerts.

“We had bandstand presentations prior to that but we remarketed it during COVID and moved the date to Saturdays,” says Louis Robitaille, president of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society, about the event.

“In 2020, it was all Nova Scotian artists and in 2021, we restricted ourselves to (acts from) Atlantic Canada.”

Featuring a range of Maritime acts, the Saturdays in the Park concerts quickly became a popular event with artists performing for free on the outdoor bandstand stage.

“Last year, there were some restrictions on gatherings, even outdoors, in the summer,” says Robitaille, adding that in spite of ongoing challenges, he anticipates an even more popular event this year.

“We are hearing now that inflation is such and gas prices are such that people aren’t travelling but they still want to get out and do something so I think those series of concerts are going to be quite popular,” adds Robitaille. “(And) we have a fantastic lineup.”

This year, with the removal of COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, Saturdays in the Park will also feature artists from beyond just Atlantic Canada. Another extension to this year’s Saturdays in the Park is a collaboration with the Old Fish Factory Restaurant at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.

As a result of the new partnership, nine of the acts appearing in Saturdays at the

Park will also be performing an evening show at the Lunenburg waterfront venue.

Saturdays at the Park will begin at 2 p.m. and people are invited to bring their own chairs or blankets to relax and enjoy the 10 acts participating in this year’s event.

“It was more of a challenge booking people this year in terms of specific dates because they are getting more active,” admits Robitaille. “We have people from Ontario and Quebec and right across the Maritimes.”

From the Charlottetown based three-piece instrumental band, Inn Echo (July 2) to the East Coast Music Awardwinning folk duo Rube & Rake (Sept. 3), the Saturdays in the Park lineup undoubtedly includes something for everyone’s musical taste.

“I’m looking forward to Youngtree and the Blooms from Newfoundland,” adds Robitaille about the July 23 show featuring the energetic altcountry folk quintet from St. John’s. “They’re a great young group with a lot of energy.”

Among the other acts taking part will be Halifax blues-rock power duo Campbell and Johnston (July 30), Acadian singer Michelle Deveau (Aug. 13) and Lynne Hanson, an Ottawabased entertainer who will take the stage on Aug. 20.

“She is a singer-songwriter that leans towards folk and touches on country but not very hard,” adds Robitaille. “She would be an old rocker who has mellowed with age (but) she does some beautiful work.”

For full lineup or more information on Saturdays in the Park, visit www.folkharbour. com