Pointe Claire (Quebec) – August 18, 2014 – The outdoor street fair and music festival that morphed into an annual tradition in Pointe Claire is back after taking a year off last summer – and this year the revamped BassStock Music Festival will move to a more family-friendly format and join forces with the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation (LGHF), its co-founder said last week.
The annual event was first born as a street barbecue more than 10 years ago, and after the first edition, organizers thought it might be fun to have a band playing live music, just to add some ambience. The event has grown and grown to the point where more than 2,000 people are expected to show up this year, co-founders and neighbours Dan Lavoie, Fred Herbert and Richard Gurekas said. It was important for the organizers to pick up where they left off in the past after not holding the event for the first time in 11 years last year. The event will begin at 3 p.m.
“Last year, we had a lot of things going on and no one could take up the slack for some of our organizers who couldn’t commit the time last year, but this year we’re back and we’re making a few changes that we feel will increase the number of people coming out to see the show”, said co-founder Dan Lavoie. Those changes include moving the outdoor show to a Sunday, moving up the start time to 3 p.m. and raising funds for the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation, Lavoie added. “It’s going to bring a whole new family-friendly dimension to BassStock, and it’s a great way for us to reach out to the community and do some good at the same time. It’s a fun day and the LGHF is a great cause for us to get behind”, he said.
The August 24 concert, which will take place on a stage erected specifically for the event on the green space in the middle of Basswood Circle just east of St. John’s Boulevard and south of Highway 20 in Pointe Claire, will feature nine bands, including headliners on a stage on the green space, the presence of a food truck, a raffle and master of ceremonies Marc Lalonde, the LGHF’s new communications officer. Featured bands are Bad Patch, Pumping Ethyl, The Smog, Joe & The Boys, Pioneer People, Clever Apes, Clay & Friends and The Corsets.
“We thought shaking up the format this year and starting the event earlier in the day might allow some of the band members to play for their families, because when they play in bars, their families may not be able to see them play”, said Herbert, the music co-ordinator for the event.
About 50 volunteers, including the sound man – another neighbour on the small street – will kick in their efforts to bring the show together.
“There are a lot of volunteers and a lot of folks helping out. They don’t get paid. The bands don’t get paid. It’s a real grass-roots operation,” Gurekas said.
Organizers are hoping to raise $1,000 for the Foundation through the raffle and free-will donations.
About the LGHF
Since 1964, the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation has contributed to a higher standard of equipment and has provided a broader array of patient services than would be possible through government funding alone. The LGHF is an integral part of the HSSC.
The West Island HSSC at a glance
The West Island HSSC includes the CLSC de Pierrefonds, the CLSC du Lac-Saint-Louis, the Centre d’hébergement Denis-Benjamin-Viger and the Lakeshore General Hospital. Its territory covers the boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, as well as the municipalities of Baie-D’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Kirkland, Pointe-Claire, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Senneville. The West Island HSSC serves a population of over 220,000 people. No fewer than 2,125 employees and some 250 physicians (generalists and specialists) work in a bilingual environment, with over 500 volunteers. Largest employer in the West Island, the organization is evolving and has the wind in its sails. Its vision is to become an HSSC of Excellence.
