Free concerts weekly in Hollinger Park

Posted By RON GRECH, THE DAILY PRESS

Ten consecutive Wednesday nights of free concerts will be held at the pavilion in Hollinger Park this summer.

The lineup of performers was announced Thursday.

The groups, all from Timmins, cover a wide range of genres including rock, blues, big band jazz, alternative rock, country, pop and classical.

The Timmins Symphony Orchestra will kick off the series beginning June 30. The following Wednesday, on July 7, Fiberglass Moustache will perform.

The 10-week summer concert series will conclude Sept. 1 with a performance by The Shaftmen.

The start time for each of the shows will 7 p.m. and they will last for about 90 minutes.

"The objective here is to be able to offer entertainment during our anniversary years," said Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren, who is also the chairman of the community's 100th Anniversary Committee.

This year, the Timmins is celebrating 100 years of mining production.

"We know that many people come back home in the summer time or if we have tourists here for the first time, it obviously gives them an opportunity to come out to an event that is free," said Laughren. "And I think when you travel across the country, you are always going to look at entertainment -- especially musical entertainment -- on your trip. This will offer them some Timmins culture.

"We have a wide variety of different groups that are playing with all kinds of music and I think that's really what we're trying to offer: An opportunity on a Wednesday night for people to come out to a family event where they can bring their company, bring their guests and enjoy."

Joe Robinette, guitarist with Gettin' Dirty, the group scheduled to perform July 28, said, "I think it's a great opportunity for everybody, not just for ourselves. This is the first time they've been able to do something like this in quite a number of years and I hope it's going to be the start of something really nice and spectacular.

The lineup they have is really phenomenal. They have all kinds of genres and bands from every walk of life. It should be great for us, the bands and the public to come out and enjoy it."

Matthew Jones, conductor of the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, said concert series is a "win-win-win situation in my view. It's a win for the symphony to be asked and do this kind of thing and I hope it will be considered a win for the 100th Anniversary Committee, the City of Timmins. I think it's an absolutely ideal thing for them to be doing for the city. And I hope it's a win for the audience too."

Country singer Leslie-Anne Dupuis, who is scheduled to perform Aug. 4, said, "I see so many opportunities with this. First of all, I'm going to be using it to get a newer press kit out. So I'm hiring a couple of companies around to do a video and record it."

Dupuis, who also manages JJ's Ranch in Schumacher, added, "From a manager's perspective, from a bar, I get to hear new talent so that I can hire them in my establishment as well."

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On Stage

The full lineup of performers are:

* Timmins Symphony Orchestra, June 30;

* Fiberglass Moustache, July 7;

* AkoufeN, July 14;

* All Star Big Band, July 21;

* Gettin' Dirty, July 28;

* Leslie-Anne Dupuis & First Line, Aug. 4;

* Elizabeth Ferrari, Aug. 11;

* Big Deal, Aug. 18;

* 4Play, Aug. 25; and

* The Shaftmen, Sept. 1.

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