PROVIDENCE BAY鈥擳he organizers of the annual Bluegrass in the Country music festival are prepared for what is expected to be a great weekend for music lovers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e gearing up for the event and are pretty excited to get the weekend started,鈥 stated Ben Lentir, chair of the volunteer committee. 鈥淓veryone is making final preparations and getting excited about the big weekend.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited to have David Peterson and 1946 (band) from Tennessee being the featured performers for the weekend,鈥 said Mr. Lentir.
鈥淎nd we are excited to have The Barrel Boys, a wonderful group all now based out of Ottawa as part of the other talented musicians and groups we have performing at the festival,鈥 said Mr. Lentir. 鈥淲e have a great lineup.鈥
Other performers included in the star-studded lineup include the Canucky Bluegrass Boys, Granite Hill, Avery Drive, Simply Blu, 2nd Line Bluegrass, Ben Lentir and Robbie Shawana.
As a precursor to the weekend, 鈥渢here will be an open mic night for all the campers who are here for the weekend. If they are here Thursday, they can take part in open mic, get on the stage and display their musical talent,鈥 said Mr. Lentir.
鈥淭he first Bluegrass in the Country show took place in 2009,鈥 continued Mr. Lentir. 鈥淭his would have been our 15th year in 2024, if not for COVID. This year will mark 13 years of the bluegrass festival.鈥
鈥淲e have a number of wonderful vendors on hand for the weekend, selling merchandise and food,鈥 said Mr. Lentir.
Mr. Lentir explained, 鈥淎ll the proceeds from the weekend goes to Manitoulin Special Olympics (MSO) to cover all their expenses for the sports events they take part in and equipment like curling brooms or baseball gloves. It covers their travel expenses provincially, nationally and some years, internationally.鈥
Janet Anning, MSO coordinator and coach said, 鈥淏luegrass in the Country is super important for us (MSO). It is the one fundraiser we do every year and covers our athletes and coaches鈥 trips wherever we are going. And with this one event we only have to ask our sponsors for support this one time of the year.鈥
鈥淎nd what we like is that this is a fun event for everyone involved, and we get to give back to the community,鈥 said Ms. Anning. 鈥淲e thank everyone who helps and supports us, all year.鈥
Mr. Lentir noted, 鈥渢he Bluegrass committee would like to thank all our volunteers for making this a success. Without our volunteers on Manitoulin Island none of these events would take place.鈥
鈥淎nd we are very grateful to all our sponsors of the event鈥攖heir support is very much appreciated,鈥 added Mr. Lentir.
Bluegrass in the Country takes place June 7-9 at the Providence Bay Fairgrounds. 鈥淥n Friday we open at 6 pm, and Saturday evening things get started at 1 pm,鈥 said Mr. Lentir. 鈥淭here will be a gospel show at 10 am on Sunday morning.鈥
The music lineup Friday night sees 2nd Line Bluegrass performing at 6 pm, Ben Lentir at 7 pm, Granite Hill taking to the stage at 8 pm and Simply Blu performing at 9 pm. On Saturday, the music starts at 1 pm with Avery Drive and continues until 5 pm (for supper break) with performances by Simply Blu, Granite Hill, 2nd Line Bluegrass. After the supper break the Canucky Bluegrass Boys take to the stage at 6 pm, The Barrel Boys at 7 pm and David Peterson and 1946 at 8:30 pm.
On Sunday, the gospel show will start at 10 am, with Ben Lentir opening up the music for the morning, followed by Robbie Shawana and The Barrel Boys.
