From mudslide to good vibes: volunteers save the day at Ontario music festival
Global News
Rock The Park said it would provide tickets to anyone who could come help with the cleanup and in less than a half hour they had about 50 volunteers on site in London, Ont.
Rock the Park‘s 20th year has been a bumpy one, but the beloved five-day music festival in London, Ont., lives by the motto “the show much go on” — and thanks to help from the community, Tyler Childers was able to take the stage at Harris Park on Thursday night.
The impact of hurricane Beryl brought 70 mm of rain to London (just 10 mm shy of a 1921 record) on Wednesday but staff were able to lay down straw and prepare the grounds for Nickelback to headline.
However, after more than 12,000 fans spent several hours kicking up mud and leaving behind some garbage, the park was in a sorry state Thursday morning.
“Never did we think in 20 years that a hurricane would have anything to do with Rock the Park,” Brad Jones of Jones Entertainment Group, which puts on Rock the Park, said Thursday.
“But you know what? … if you were here when you left (Wednesday) night for Nickelback, you wouldn’t even think it was the same park.”
The quick cleanup was in part thanks to a near-immediate response to a call for volunteers.
Rock the Park posted on Facebook that it would provide tickets to anyone who could come help with the cleanup and in less than a half hour they had about 50 volunteers on site.
“We have a wonderful social media base, and people are always asking where they can help,” said Jones.
