A much-anticipated concert at the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge will be brought to you by the Ontario government.

It’ll be part of their free ONtour concert series that will make stops in more than 20 communities, showcasing some of Ontario’s brightest homegrown musical talent.  This is in celebration of Ontario’s 150th anniversary.

Timmins’ stop is scheduled for August 26th, which is the Saturday of the Kayak festival.

The province states in a release that at least three acts will participate in each concert and over 50 artists will take part at some point.

So who is going to play in Timmins? Well, the release states a multitude of names and we can probably narrow down the list as a few of the names will already be stopping in the City with the Heart of Gold during either the Stars and Thunder Festival and Rock on the River.

Here is the partial list released by the province (artists already scheduled for Timmins this summer are in bold):

Jim Cuddy Band, Serena Ryder, Kim Mitchell, The Tea Party, Magic!, Tom Cochrane, James Barker Band, Our Lady Peace, Big Wreck, Kardinal Offishall, The Philospher Kings, Barenaked Ladies, Mélanie Brulée, USS, Alx Veliz, Anjulie, Jonathan Roy, Coleman Hell, Scott Helman, Rivertown Saints, Michelle Treacy, Francesco Yates, DJ Shub, Karl Wolf, Next Generation Leahy, Tyler Shaw, Midnight Shine and Mia Martina.

All of the ONtour concerts are free and open to music-lovers of all ages and there are no tickets required. Check the ONtour schedule often for updates online at www.ontario.ca/ONtour.

An estimated 80,000 people are expected to enjoy ONtour.

Other stops in the North include:

  • Blind River: July 8
  • Sault Ste. Marie: July 16
  • Thunder Bay: August 9
  • Kenora: August 10
  • Sudbury: August 19
  • Timmins: August 26

The concert series starts in Alderville First Nation on June 25 and wraps up in Petawawa September 17.

 

TOURISM TIMMINS EXCITED

Manager of Tourism Timmins Guy Lamarche says because they’ve already set the lineup for their evening shows, the ONTour concert would be held during the afternoon.

(Reminder: The Mudmen will headline the Friday night along with “Hotel California,” an Eagles tribute band. Harlequin will headline Saturday night, with “Saturday Night Special,” a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band playing before them.)

“It’s comforting to see that our government partners are seeing the Kayak Challenge for the festival it has become,” Lamarche told Rogers Media.

“It’s grown exponentially over the last number of years, this being year number nine and more and more people are looking at that event as one of the festivals that should be attended annually.”

As for who is playing, Lamarche says your guess is as good as his at this point in time.

“We’re very anxious to see and hear what bands are going to complete the music program for this year’s event,” he said, adding he’s pleased officials will get to augment more acts in a time slot in an otherwise quiet time.

Speaking of music, Lamarche says they’re finalizing the lineup for the Summer Concert Series, which will take place Wednesday’s at the McIntyre Lions Club Park and Bannerman Park.

And word is officials are already working on something for the 2018 version of the Kayak Challenge.

“We’ve had discussions with a partner that has confirmed interest,” Lamarche says, “There will be a fairly big conference being incorporated into our overall program next year. And that too is going to allow us to continue to grow that challenge.”

Filed under: Local News