Regular attendees meet up in Moncton

C13

BY GREG WESTON
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

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The annual summer concerts at Magnetic Hill aren't only about bringing some of the world's biggest bands to Metro, they're also about bringing people together.

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RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

The 5 X girls were all smiles at the Bon Jovi concert on Saturday night in Moncton. Here left to right are Alison Kelly, Aimee Nordine, Shaunna MacKenzie, Ali LeBlanc, and Sass MacKeigan.

"This is when you meet people, this is when you make new friends," says Rose Godfrey. "We've been to every one since they started. You meet a lot of fun people."

Godfrey, her husband Wayne and their RV are regular visitors to Moncton each summer, attracted to the Magnetic Hill venue by the music and the chance for new friendships. From Chezzetcook N.S., she says camping at the concert is the best way to enjoy the show, since it brings together so many people looking for a fun time.

Before last year's Eagles concert, the Godfreys' RV was parked alongside that of Annette Cross, from Bridgewater, N.S. The two became fast friends and kept in touch via Facebook. Now they look forward to seeing each other at shows around the region, with Moncton at the top of their list of venues.

"I'm a social butterfly," she says. "When we left, we said that when we go home we'll definitely keep in touch. And we have. We've been talking and making plans to meet up this weekend. We arrived after not seeing each other after a year and it was great."

The pair often talk via the Internet and hope to see each other a few more times during the summer.

In October, they're even going on vacation together and Godfrey says they owe it all to meeting in Moncton.

"She has a house in Florida and she said 'You have to come,'" she says. "We really hit it off and we have a lot of the same interests. This kind of thing brings the same kind of people together and we really love it."

Her husband Wayne says running into familiar faces is part of the concert experience.

"We usually run into the same people at the concerts we've been to. There seems to be a crowd that that's what they do, but we've definitely seen the same faces," he says.

Rose agrees and wouldn't want to see a show any other way.

"It's a good time. We always come up at least a day early. We've met so many people like that, just doing this whole camping routine."