For Prince George toddlers Sully and Mila Thibault and their three-year-old cousin Augi Thibault, building a Jenga block puzzle that was almost as tall as they stood was one of the highlights of their Saturday afternoon visit to Exhibition Park for the Rooftop Rocks: Flatbed Edition.
The best part was knocking all those 2X4 blocks to the ground.
For Cody Thibault, the father of four-year-old Sully and two-year-old Mila, just the idea of getting out into a crowd again to take in the live music and entertainment surrounded by people milling around the stage and check out the food and merchandise booths was enough to make the trip to the CN Centre parking lot worthwhile.
After nearly a year-and-a-half of avoiding crowds during the pandemic, Saturday’s entertainment extravaganza was a welcome return to normalcy. For Thibault, the chance to get out with his older brother A.J. and their kids on a warm sunny day was good for their souls.
“It’s just nice being around people again, having the kids out and having a good time with everyone,” said Cody Thibault. “Hopefully we’ll see there’s a light at the end of the tunnel here.
“It’s been a bit of a grind but we’re just fortunate we live in Prince George and don’t have skyscrapers and a thousand people per city block and we can get out and actually do stuff. We weren’t so confined as people in the big cities;, I think we had it a lot easier. You could walk out of your house and go to a playground and in a big metropolis they didn’t have that luxury and they were locked in their homes.”
A CF-18 fighter jet made two passes over the crowd, perhaps offering a taste of what to expect next year if the Canadian Air Force is involved in the annual air show in either Vanderhoof or Quesnel. At the other end of the transportation speed spectrum, the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum set up its mini-train for the kids to ride with their parents. The lineups were long, but judging by the smiles on the faces of the passengers it was well worth the wait.
“This is a great event and to see P.G out again having fun in the sun, you can’t put a price to it,” said A.J. Thibault. “The kids are having a blast, they’re just having fun no matter where they are. COVID or no COVID, it’s all a good time. It’s good to see there’s no apprehensions towards crowds. Everybody’s out here and everybody’s ready to have a good time again.”
Comedian Mike McGuire hasn’t been touring the comedy club scene like he usually does but he and radio 94.3 FM DJ Cody Malbeuf, as Wheelin’ Warriors, have been making people laugh and raising money for the bike team and its efforts to fund cancer research. They’ve been collecting donations at their Wheely Funny Garden Parties and have raised more than $10,000 over the past year. McGuire took a break from selling his Suspicious Cyclops hot sauce at one of the vendor booths to climb onto the big stage at Rooftop Rocks for a 50-minute comedy set that featured some of his favourite COVID-era pickup lines.
“I really miss crowds, I’m an extrovert and that’s how I get my charge,” said McGuire. ”It’s exactly the wrong venue in every way for comedy – a comedy show should be a small room, low ceiling, with the audience right there and this is none of that, but I think people are just excited to be out again.
“I’m a Wheelin’ Warrior and this is a great cause for us and if can help make it a better event then that’s what I’m here for.”
The event drew an estimated 7,500 people who opened their wallets to donate more than $22,000 to the Wheelin' Warriors.
