There is once again music in the park

By Kristena Schutt-Moore

The Mineral Capital Concerts are back! The concert series returned to Millenium Park for the first time since 2019, on Wednesday, July 6. An excited crowd gathered at the park, bringing lawn chairs to relax and enjoy the music. 

The first band of this year, on July 6, were The Fade Kings. They performed a mix of soul, blues and rock n' roll that was popular in the 1950s and 60s. It also had many in attendance tapping their toes and some up dancing to their favourite tunes.

A variety of groups and local musicians will be performing during this year's Mineral Capital Concerts. The concerts are held on the Band Shell stage every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The next performers will be the Glory Misfits on July 13, Noah Zacharin on July 20, Coe Hill Girls on July 27, Canadian Tallboys on Aug. 3, Granite Ridge on Aug. 10, The Salt Cellars on Aug. 17, Gary and The Rough Ideas on Aug. 24 and the last of the performances will be Rick Fines on Aug. 31. 

The Mineral Capital Concerns committee were able to bring together these nine acts through the help of a $3,500 grant from the Federal Economic Development Council and bring the concert series back after a three years on hold. 

To celebrate the return of the concerts the committee is fundraising for a different community organization each week with what they call ‘The Birthday Box.' At each concert a random date will be chosen by the committee, July 7, for example, and people will be able put a donation into the box along with their name and whoever has the birthday closest to the random date selected by the committee will win the prize. This is the committee's new way of raising funds for local charities, instead of the traditional 50/50 draws. 

Those interested in more information about the Mineral Capital Concerts are invited to check out their Facebook page.