Concerts on the Bay in Belleville this summer

The Belleville Lions Club presents its 2014 music series Concerts on the Bay, which began earlier this month.

By Maria Reyes

BELLEVILLE – Local musicians will be performing on a vintage stage in Zwick’s Park during Concerts on the Bay, an annual summer music event.

“Last Sunday there was a very good crowd. Around six to seven hundred people were parked all over the outside,” said organizer Doug Thompson.

According to the event’s website (concertsonthebay.ca), the music series dates back to 1967, when the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans’ Association decided to build a platform in honour of Canada’s centennial to enrich the summer experience with music.

“The original name of the concerts was Music in the Park,” Thompson said, explaining that organizers decided to change it to Concerts on the Bay because Music in the Park was a name used by several neighbouring areas.

The name Concerts on the Bay was chosen because the Lions Pavilion where the concerts take place is located right on the Bay of Quinte.

The concerts take place Sundays and Wednesdays during June, July and August. There are a total of 23 concerts through the summer.

Local musicians and music teachers are the ones who came up with the idea of the concerts. Twenty years ago, the Lions Club took over. Four years ago the club decided to build a covered stage and pavilion to protect the platform “from the nasty weather,” said Thompson.

Even though it rained a lot during the Wednesday concert last week, people came out to enjoy the evening’s event, he said.

“This is a very nice venue where all musicians like to play. Local and family bands attend as well.”

One of those bands is the Black Family, made up of 10 kids from Owen Sound, Ont., who will perform Sunday, June 29

Local companies and businesses sponsor the event.