By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Bay Bulls will be alive with the sound of music this summer after council approved $4,500 to fund a nine-part concert series at the waterfront park.
Council saw it as an opportunity to feature some local musicians and potentially provide a boost to tourist traffic for local businesses.
“Hopefully this will increase foot traffic over the summer, and it’s a great way to help us support some of our local musicians and artists and give them an opportunity to play for a bigger audience,” said Deputy Mayor Ethan Williams.
Town Manager Ashley Wakeham came up with the idea for the concert series after speaking with colleagues at a conference who were doing the same thing in their community.
She said that with the funds approved, she will begin to reach out to some performers she has contacts for and check on their availability.
Wakeham said the focus will be on local and regional musicians, with the potential to reach out to contacts in St. John’s and farther down the Southern Shore, but the priority will be Bay Bulls and the surrounding area first.
“And then we'll start widening the net a little bit (if needed). I'd like to have everybody a different person every time,” Wakeham told council, adding the Town may open it up to calls of interest from the public depending on the number of commitments she receives from her contact list.
“We may repeat a performer if we don’t have enough sign on, but I am hoping we will get some interest from the people we contact,” she said.
The plan is to start the series in July and to rotate performances between Wednesdays and Fridays in the afternoons and evenings. A final schedule will be announced once performers are booked.
There is a small shelter at the park, but Mayor Keith Driscoll said he is hoping the weather will be agreeable for the performances.
Wakeham noted that visitor numbers have already started to pick up.
