Miramichi rocks 'n' rolls
Published Monday July 6th, 2009
Rain holds off as festival-goers to enjoy four days of music, cars and 1950s revelry
MIRAMICHI - Even in the middle of an economic downturn and a seemingly endless stretch of not-so-summery weather, Miramichi proved once again that it's always up for a celebration.
Thousands of people from all over Atlantic Canada descended on the Newcastle waterfront this past weekend for the 16th Annual Rock 'n' Roll Festival; taking in four days filled with classic cars, live music and 1950s nostalgia.
The traditional centrepiece of the festival, The Golden Oldies Car Show, put an official bookend on the event with well over 200 classic machines providing the eye candy for hordes of hard-core and casual car enthusiasts alike.
Reflecting on the weekend that was, festival marketing and advertising captain Shawn Boisvert said the 16th instalment of the event couldn't have gone any better.
Even though threatening rain clouds hung over Miramichi for most of the weekend, the event was spared any mood-killing downpours, with a few spurts of sunshine even making an appearance long enough to raise spirits.
"With the bad weather we've been having recently, everybody's starting to realize that summer's going to be over soon, so they're going to go out and support the event rain, shine, snow, or whatever else," she said.
"But overall, the weekend has been just fabulous -- we're so pleased and when we see everybody out here like this on our final day, this is a huge treat for our committee."
Rock 'n' Roll Festival kicked off on Thursday evening with a street dance and a massive fireworks display, which Boisvert said many festival-goers have been heralding as the best in the Maritimes by a wide margin.
Friday was highlighted by a late-night dance and musical performance by 1950s-style throwbacks The Reunion Band, with plumes of smoke and the pungent odour of burnt rubber taking over the city on Saturday for the ever popular Tire Fryer burnout competition drawing in thousands of people.
Watching dozens of contestants putting their junked-out cars and trucks through a torture test in the Tire Fryer, Miramichi resident Mark Rigley said he always looks forward to Rock 'n' Roll Festival.
"It seems like the whole city shuts down for this -- everybody's having a great time, there's lots going on, so I really can't complain," he said.
"It's probably a good thing that David Suzuki isn't here though," he added, referring to the massive smokescreen billowing up into the sky.
Music lovers piled into the Miramichi Civic Centre for the second of the weekend's adult's only dances Saturday night, as Halifax rockers and festival regulars Shaydid wowed the audience for yet another year.
Other festival events included kids' games, drag racing at Miramichi Drag Park, a soapbox derby, and the 5th Annual Camp Sheldrake Great Duck Race fundraiser.
First year festival chair Nick Pitre said he credits the festival's annual success to the hard work of a team of dedicated volunteers that make up the organizing committee, as well as a diverse lineup of events that offers something for everyone.
"This appeals to people of all ages, we've basically tried to touch all walks of life to make sure everybody's enjoying the weekend and that everybody feels a part of it," he said.
"We're in our 16th year, and it's already been voted as one of the top festivals in New Brunswick and we plan on keeping that going as we move on."
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