There were a lot of proud mothers at the Barriere Bandshell on opening day! Performers of all ages took to the stage while exhibitors ringed the oval to celebrate the opening of the new community facility and to wish everyone a happy Mother’s Day.
The District of Barriere would like to thank the many volunteers, performers and exhibitors who spent unknown hours getting ready and then more hours on site Sunday putting on the show. Very special thanks go out to Bill Fowler, who volunteered not only his time and expertise but all his sound equipment for the performances. Charlie Kibble’s constant help setting up and fine tuning each act’s special needs and then sticking around until everything was torn down, packed away and delivered safely back to Bill’s house also can’t go unmentioned.
Beverly Murphy, our stage manager/mother hen pulled everyone together after weeks of rehearsing with our younger performers and the Thompson Valley Players. Like a dog with a bone she never gave up on anyone who showed an interest in being part of the celebration.
Lynn and Harley Wright, what a team! Lynn organized all the exhibitors around the oval while Harley stepped up to the mic as our MC for the official ceremonies. Behind the scenes announcers Bob Armstrong and June Webb provided the audience with tidbits about each performance and about the exhibitors around the oval. Kate Zahir and Lynn Roste took time to come from Kamloops to direct the young string players and singers.
After the dignitaries were drummed onto the stage by the Simpcw Drum Group, Greg Eustache performed a smudge and elder Mona Jules gave a blessing. Three eagles soared high above, which I understand is a good sign for the opening as well. The official welcomes by Acting Chief Fred Fortier, Mayor Mike Fennell and Minister for the Environment and local MLA, Dr. Terry Lake were followed by Councillor Glen Stanley, Chair of the Bandshell Committee, and Councillor Virginia Smith who recognized and thanked all the sponsors and volunteers. Katelyne Bonin, a candidate of the BC Ambassador Program, spoke about the program and introduced the NTFFRA Queen Pageant Royalty (Alex Brown, Jessica Graves, Seanna Lyons, and Little Princess Hope Moore) and this year’s candidates (Tianna Weninger, Hannah Allen, Cassandra Brown, Tiffina Preston, Christina Hostetter and Bethany McInnes) who will be back at the Bandshell for more festivities on Canada Day.
It was a bit of a rush to get the bandshell ready in time for the opening but Council stepped up to the challenge, with Virginia shining up the new washrooms and putting together the flower arrangements, Mayor Mike installing the toilet holders and raking out the entrances, Glen staking the parking, cutting the grass and putting up parking signs while Ward raked and shoveled his way around the oval.
Shawn and Ryan Fadear from Gabian Wall Systems provided the labour and materials for the accessible ramps leading up to the stage and Gary Forsythe from Sundown Construction provided his expertise and labour to cap the ramps. Shawn and Wally Welz of Tri Services let us use half their shop space for over a month so we could stain all the required tongue and groove for the ceiling. They also chipped in extra machine time and materials. Barriere Irly provided the best deals on materials to help with this project.
From the Clearwater Times