Hot time, summer in the city.
SummerFest is coming back to Prince George this summer and the annual entertainment extravaganza is always a popular draw with city residents.
After two years of pandemic-related restrictions, the Downtown Prince George event is on the calendar for four summer Saturdays – July 9 and 16 and August 13 and 20 – and with live entertainment, food vendors and kids activities in store for of those days, the outdoor street festival will become a focal point to showcase the nearly 500 downtown businesses.
“We’re really just wanting people to know there’s things they can participate in in downtown Prince George and we’re trying to create a festive spirit that makes people want to hang out down there for those particular Saturdays and any other Saturday they might think of coming back,” said Colleen Van Mook, chief executive officer of Downtown Prince George.
Traditionally held on Sundays, Summerfest has been permanently switched to Saturdays to attract more people to downtown shops when they were open for business.
“It was a great community event on Sunday but businesses aren’t generally open on Sundays, so when we did the Saturday businesses felt more a part of it and they commented that it feels like a community and they were part of it,” said Van Mook.
Summerfest has also moved its entertainment base from the Civic Plaza area to the outdoor square at the Wood Innovation and Design Centre along Fifth Avenue at 499 George St.
“On each of those four Saturdays we’ll have live entertainment at Wood Innovation Square at the park on Fifth and we’ll have a stage with music throughout the day and we’ll have amenities like picnic tables and port-a-potties that will give people a chance to stay a little longer downtown,” said Van Mook.
“Each Saturday will have something new and different. On the ‘thrive’ day we’re hoping we can get some yoga or zoomba, that kind of thing. “On the ‘shop’ weekend we’ll close off Fourth Avenue and have some more vendors. I think it will remind people there can be a lot going on and there’s already stuff that happens on any Saturday and we’ll enhance that a bit on Summerfest Saturdays.”
Downtown Prince George is working with Sound Factory music store/music school to line up local musicians to perform on the Summerfest stage from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each day.
Each Saturday will carry a different theme – eat, shop , explore and thrive - and downtown attractions such as the Two Rivers Art Gallery and Exit Prince George escape room centre on Victoria Street will join dozens of other businesses by offering special promotions to draw visitors on Summerfest days.
Health restrictions that came with the COVID outbreak made Summerfest a virtual event and the relaxing of some of those limits on crowding last summer gave downtown merchants and restaurants the opportunity to welcome more visitors with outdoor patios they built in front of their businesses for four Saturdays in July.
“The patios that started up last year on Third Avenue really kind of made a festive feeling and it went well, even though we were limited,” said Van Mook. “We couldn’t provide a lot of amenities but we thought people just enjoyed coming downtown and checking out the markets, stores restaurants and the patios.”
Summerfest visitors will have the chance to check out the city’s two downtown open-air markets – the Prince George Farmers’ Market at 1310 Third Ave., and the Wilson Square Community Market along Third Avenue in front of the Prince George Courthouse at 250 George St. Both markets are open every Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. until Oct. 8.
Part of the Summerfest budget this year comes from a $20,000 fairs and festivals grant provided by the province to help organizations still reeling for two years of not being able to host live events due to the pandemic. The city’s My PG fund resulted in a $10,000 grant. The rest of the budget will be covered by Downtown Prince George and its member businesses and from sponsorships.
“We’re feeling fortunate we have that grant money, it gives us that base funding to make it happen and build on this and see if it grows,” said Van Mook.
