Pickin’ in the Park a success story

July 31, 2014 · 0 Comments

It was a perfect weekend, the sun shone with just a light rain late Saturday night, part of what made the second year of Pickin’ in the Park an even greater success than in 2014 with attendance up by nearly 40 per cent.

117 trailers arrived in Shelburne from Mississauga, Wingham, Freelton, Gravenhurst, Ottawa, Calgary, Brechin, Toronto, Keswick, Pickering, Waterloo, North Bay, Collingwood, Shelburne and everywhere in between, numbering approximately 234 campers. Greg and Heather Holmes of Holmes Appliances and Music Shop brought back the popular Fiddle Park event to Shelburne last weekend, July 24–27th. The inaugural event raised $5000 in 2013, with the dream of a permanent structure to be built in the future, at the park, for just such events. This year over $9000 was raised from the weekend – to be added to the savings.

Nearly 45 different groups of all ages entertained last year, but the Holmes’ reported that this year, on Saturday night alone, 62 entertainers signed up to perform and they all made it onto the stage. Most were campers and local musicians including fiddlers, guitar and banjo players, drummers and keyboard players. Lots of give-aways were passed throughout the crowds both evenings and every musician was given a musical give-away for their participation.

On Saturday night, approximately 400 people were enjoying and playing music in the tent area that covered the crowd and entertainment. Among the many acts, eight year old Avril Young from Shelburne entertained the crowd with her singing, while the oldest musician was fiddler, Alex Aldcorn from Badjeros. “Dancers got on the floor as soon as the music started and never quit until late at night,” says Heather, country and old time fiddle tunes filled the floor in front of the stage with dancers throughout the weekend.

The Shelburne Kinettes, who were busy at the event all weekend serving up deep fried pickles and peameal bacon and beef on a bun, will be serving again on Fiddle Weekend. The Kinettes hope you will drop out to Fiddle Park at that time to enjoy their delicious food and the excellent music in the park.

Greg and Heather Holmes put in many weeks of work to bring the event to Shelburne, and the sunburns on their faces show the hours spent working in the sun last weekend. They say, “Fiddle Park is a great park, with wonderful washrooms and kitchen facilities, and lots of green space, perfect for events and gatherings, but we do see the need for additional development.” Encouragement from fellow camping friends and musicians prompted them to approach the Town for approval for Pickin’ in the Park. The result is a highly anticipated and successful annual event that not only raises funds for the park, but brings hundreds of visitors to Shelburne businesses each July.

The newest addition to the list of events this year was a “Trunk Sale,” an add-on to the Trailer Trash Yard Sale, inviting the community to drive into the park with their “trunk sale” collection on Saturday morning. Also new this year was the Ice Cream Social with ice cream donated by Shelburne Foodland, No Frills, and Giant Tiger. “Everyone loved cooling off with ice cream, and visiting and meeting new friends,” said the Holmes’.

The whole event is run by volunteers, with support, donations and sponsorship from the Town of Shelburne, Shelburne Lions Club, Holmes Appliances & Music Shop, Gimme Shelter RV Centre, North America Construction Company, Shelburne Fire Department, Trillium Ford, and the Shelburne Kinettes. Several other donations were made toward the loonie raffle and camping information bags.

Greg and Heather say they “would like to continue next year with the same event as the response from attendance was very supportive for 2015.” All proceeds will go to the betterment of Fiddle Park. For information or questions, please contact: Greg or Heather Holmes 519 925-2696 or gregholmes2696@gmail.com

By Marni Walsh