Organizers hope drive-in Rotaryfest will give Saultites something to celebrate

Rotaryfest will have yet another different look this year due to provincial COVID-19 restrictions. 

After offering a virtual festival in September of last year, organizers have opted to take a drive-in and drive-thru approach for this year’s event, which begins Thursday in the former Lowe’s parking lot at Northern Avenue and Great Northern Road.    

“In our optimistic view, putting on our rose-coloured glasses, we were hopeful that what happened in the summer of 2020 would be similar to where we are today in that drive-through events were allowed. So that’s why we planned a drive-thru, drive-in event,” said Carolyn Bunting O’Connor, events manager for the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie. “We had to follow all the rules and regulations in regards to COVID, and we’ve been working with Algoma Public Health since the time that the board decided to move ahead with trying to put on some kind of festival.”

The three-day event will feature a drive-thru Ribfest featuring Billy Bones BBQ and Silver Bullet BBQ beginning at noon each day. Traffic must enter Ribfest by travelling westbound on Northern Avenue and turning right. Meanwhile, more than a dozen local music acts will perform at the OLG and SooToday Stage, which can be accessed by heading south on Great Northern Road and turning right just before Penningtons.      

“If you want the fastest service, which means less turning around because you didn’t come in the right way, check the website to see how to enter the parking lot,” said Bunting O’Connor. “We’re trying to deal with a lot of people, so we’ve had to plan how the vehicles will actually snake through the parking lot.”

Motor vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and e-bikes will be permitted, in addition to motorized mobility scooters and power wheelchairs bearing safety flags. 

Festival-goers using scooters and power wheelchairs are being asked to enter Rotaryfest via Northern Avenue. 

“They have to come via the sidewalk that’s going along Northern Avenue, and we will feed them into the line when it’s appropriate. For instance, we don’t want them in front of a truck - we’ll put them in between cars,” said Bunting O’Connor. “We will control that merging in with the vehicle line.”

According to an information page on the Rotaryfest website, organizers are asking those without a vehicle to seek out alternative arrangements in order to attend the festival.

“We understand that this creates a barrier for people in our community, many of whom regularly attend Rotaryfest in Clergue Park. We want to emphasize that this decision was made out of concern for the safety of our attendees and in order to comply with Ontario guidelines,” reads a notice on the Rotaryfest website. “We miss you all very much – walkers, drivers, rollers and everyone in between. This change to the festival is a temporary stop on our way to returning to Clergue Park.” 

Meanwhile, live entertainment will have a very different feel this year, as a feed to listen to the musical performances will be provided via FM transmitter at 107.1 FM over the course of the festival. 

The radio signal will have a radius of approximately one kilometre. 

“You’ll be able to see the band, for the most part, but you won’t be able to hear it without the radio - there’s some sound, but we aren’t projecting the music loudly,” said Bunting O’Connor. 

The 50/50 draw is back this year, after going on hiatus in 2020. The draw, which uses proceeds to assist youth charities locally, will have a guaranteed minimum grand prize of $25,000. 

“The club’s board of directors really wanted the community to have something to celebrate. We didn’t want to cancel again, and so this is what we’ve been able to come up with that works within the COVID guidelines and that provides safety for all involved - and so we hope that the community has fun with this,” Bunting O’Connor said. 

More information on this year's summer festival can be found on the Rotaryfest website.