THUNDER BAY – A day of dreary weather couldn’t dampen the energy at the Wake the Giant music festival at Marina Park on Saturday, as thousands of spectators gave enthusiastic welcomes to performers ranging from pop legends to hometown youth performers.
The European pop group Aqua had the crowd – estimated to number around 6,000 people by event organizers – dancing and singing along at the third installment of the festival, particularly with 1997 mega-hit "Barbie Girl.”
And even though the festival grounds were a bit wet and muddy from Friday's heavy rainstorm, the weather held off for most of Saturday's all day concert, save for a bit of fog and mist.
Canadian alternative rock legends Our Lady Peace capped off the big concert, which brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous music fans as part of a cultural awareness project organized by teachers and staff at Dennis Franklin Cromarty (DFC) high school, which hosts students from remote First Nations across Northwestern Ontario.
Malachi Beardy, a self-taught pianist and third-year DFC student, provided a highlight for the crowd as he performed one of his own compositions in front of the biggest crowd of his life.
“It was overwhelming,” Beardy told Dougall Media. “I was very self-conscious, but when everyone cheered, I felt at home, and I felt really good. It made me feel really comfortable to play.”
It was also the biggest crowd yet for Wake the Giant, said DFC teacher and festival organizer Sean Spenrath. Mostly, he said Saturday evening, he was thankful the weather had cooperated to make the event a success.
“It was a tough week of set-up, but really the weather showed up,” he said. ‘We’ve been very fortunate throughout the years to have really nice weather on game day. And once again – horseshoes up our butt.”
Despite his excitement over how Saturday’s event unfolded, Spenrath wasn’t quite ready to confirm if the event will be back for a fourth year in 2023, saying it’s a decision that will be made by the organizing committee in the coming months.
With files from Jonathan Wilson, TBT News
