By Stephen Dafoe
With campers, tents and patio furniture soon to be packed away, children back in school and registered for after school activities, we now turn our attention to fall and the long and cold winter that will surely follow. We also look to things for adults to do in the coming weeks.
Morinville has a great deal in store over the next couple of months, including a variety of entertainment. The annual art and wine gala to benefit the Sturgeon Hospital Foundation takes place during Alberta Culture Days at the end of the month, as do concert performances by Senator Tommy Banks and children’s entertainer Fred Penner, the latter an act likely to draw as many grown up fans as young ones. That entertainment, taking place at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre, continues Halloween weekend with a murder mystery dinner theatre called A Little Murder on the Menu.
While each of the performances by well-known travelling entertainers will no doubt give an enjoyable evening’s diversion to residents looking for a night out within town limits, there is one show we believe you must not miss. That show is Rocktober.
Rocktober is the brainchild of the Morinville Festival Society and corporate sponsor Champion Petfoods and takes place Oct. 5, during the Morinville Food and Jam Festival, an event you will hear much more about over the next two weeks.
Festival Chair Paul Smith, no stranger to making a guitar make noises you would not think it ought to be able to make, has assembled four bands, including his own Paul Smith Band, to bring together what we believe will be the best live show of the year.
Whiskey Boyz, Edgore, and the Canyon Rose Outfit join Smith and his band, local and regional bands that will fill the night with different styles of rock music. Make no mistake. Though the bands may be local, the production values will be high, higher than any show the Morinville Community Cultural Centre has seen to date. That is if Smith’s claims are to be believed. Given the level of success his festival society has delivered over the past couple years with the annual St. Jean Baptiste Festival, we have no reason to doubt the claims.
Since Morinville’s centennial year, the annual summer festival has brought in top rock acts of years gone by. Acts like Streetheart and Loverboy packed the cultural centre with rockers of a different era, while this year’s offering of Headpins and Nick Gilder did not resonate with ticket buyers despite solid shows from both acts.
We tip our hat to the Morinville Festival Society and Champion Petfoods for taking a different approach with what the society is hoping will be a fall festival to rival Morinville’s annual summer fling. Instead of bringing in acts who hit their peak two decades ago, they are putting the lights, sound, smoke and special effects directly on our home-grown top talent, acts who have yet to hit their peak but who are well on their way.
The Morinville News is proud to be a Morinville Festival Society platinum sponsor. Knowing the work ethic of the four acts booked for the Oct. 5 Rocktober show and the efforts of the society managing things back stage, we have no problem in predicting this will be the best live show of the year.
With tickets selling at $20 for four bands and a pre-show of other local up-and-coming bands, it is a show every rock fan must see.
See our story on the event for more details and ticket locations. Visit facebook.com/MorinvilleFestivals for updates on the entire Morinville food and Jam Festival.
-SD
A really quite good promotional video, Stephen – Well Done!
The price is right and it will be quite interesting to see who all turns out for this. Hopefully, rockers of ALL ages will find this fare to their liking!
You go Paul!