The Lake Country Open Air Performance series has added another concert and another open air movie to its schedule of events for 2014 and is looking for some new volunteers to help continue to make the outdoor events series a resounding success.
Concerts hosted by Lake Country Open Air will take place every Saturday night in July and August along with the traditional Canada Day July 1 concert to kick off the series. The society will also partner with Summer Jam, filling the shoes of the family-day event this August.
Last year was Lake Country Open Air's sixth, and biggest season ever. The volunteer group hosted nine concerts and two movie-in-the-park nights in eight different parks throughout Lake Country.
Over 3,400 people took in the concerts as attendance continues to grow. There were 2,500 people in 2012 and about 1,800 in 2011.
"Six years ago when we started we probably had about 800 people attend," said co-organizer Grant Lawrence. "We've grown every year. I think the word of mouth is really helping."
Running with a core volunteer group of about seven people, Lawrence said the society is looking for fresh blood to help out, especially this year with the addition of the Aug. 16 date that used to be a night off in the series, as Summer Jam took place.
But this year Summer Jam has been replaced by a new evening in Swalwell Park that will be jointly hosted by Lake Country Open Air as well as the folks behind Summer Jam. The evening will feature a DJ, a band as well as a movie in the park.
"We tried different things over the years with Summer Jam and it just ran its course," said co-organizer Sheila Gunn. "Open Air has done such a great job of putting on concerts on in our community that it seemed like a nice partnership."
So while Summer Jam has seen its last days, the Lake Country Open Air Performance Society is continuing to pick up steam. Its concerts are a popular night out in Lake Country.
"It's probably one of the best events in all of Lake Country," said Coun. Owen Dickie. "Attendance doesn't reflect how good the program is."
"People come out not only from Lake Country but from Kelowna and Vernon because they know there is going to be good entertainment," added mayor James Baker.
For Lawrence and his group of volunteers, adding the Summer Jam date and hosting a summer full of concerts and movies is putting a bit of a strain on the volunteers and that's why they are hoping more people will come forward to help.
"The core group of volunteers is the same and we're trying to make life easier on them," said Lawrence. "We're trying to reduce the amount of burn-out but we're not there yet. Volunteers....we would love to have you come out and join us."
if you are interested in helping out, contact Grant Lawrence at info@openairperformances.com.