by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Mother Nature co-operated helping to make Whitewater Streetstrut a success.
“The day went over very, very well,” said Whitewater Region Councillor Chris Olmstead, one of the members of the organizing committee. “There were two feelings for the day.”
Explaining, he said from noon to five p.m. was a family atmosphere, with lots of children, family members and grandparents enjoying a variety of things, including face painting, a petting zoo, dunk tank, balloon animals, crafts, bouncy castle, horse and wagon rides and an opportunity to check out a variety of vendors, along with the Main Street businesses.
“It was all free,” he said. “The people I spoke to said it was great they could come out for a day of fun and not have to pay for anything.”
And, that was balanced with the ticketed event in the evening, he said.
“The evening concert venue went as well as expected,” Coun. Olmstead said. “There were lots of people.”
There were two local bands that entertained between 7 and 9 p.m. followed by the headliner, The Headstones. By the time The Headstones hit the stage, Main Street was packed with people from the stage, located at the intersection of John and Main streets, to where The Candlewick Shop is. And then people were spaced out here and there until the bar area, which was the Legion parking lot, where the area became packed again.
There was hope the event would be break-even, however, that won’t be known until next week, he said. However, if going by the exposure the township received from the day-long event, it was a success, he added.
At the event from early in the morning Saturday until the wee hours of the morning Sunday, Coun. Olmstead said he had many conversations with people who were attending the rock concert from near and far.
“I did not hear one negative experience,” he said. “There was no rough stuff, not even an argument.
“I spoke with head of security, and there was not one issue to be dealt with. That was the vibe we wanted.”
He also had an opportunity to speak with the business people along Main Street on Monday and they thought the day was fantastic.
“There were five in particular who admitted they saw an uptake in business Friday and Saturday,” Coun. Olmstead said.
People who came to attend the evening concert, spent time visiting the businesses throughout the day, he said.
While there are always the negative-minded people who think they can do it better or differently, Coun. Olmstead said for an event that was put together in a hurry, “Staff did an outstanding job.
“The band only wanted to perform for about 90 minutes, so we got them at half price.”
That suited the committee, because the people who live near where the rock concert was performing had to be considered, he said.
The rock concert appealed to people of all ages, as he saw people who were 18 and 19 years old to those in their late 60s.
The Headstones is currently the number one rock band in Canada who have a hit on the music charts, he said.
Coun. Olmstead received many phone calls and emails over the following two days and not one was negative. As a matter of fact, many said we have to keep this event going.
While some people thought the event was going to be similar to street dances held back in the 1980s, Coun. Olmstead said they were going for a different feel, and that’s why the event was called Streetstrut.
“We wanted to reflect the whole day,” he said. “Years ago, it was held just in the evening.
“We wanted an evening event with a headliner and a day that was for family time.”
There was a big change-over from the family day to the evening event, but it went smoothly, Coun. Olmstead said.
“The staff and residents and volunteers all did a great job at hosting this event, they were all great hosts,” he said.
