Show set-up survives storm
Workers quickly rebuild gala site in Pointe-Claire after violent winds
If organizing a three-day outdoor entertainment event in a busy West Island mall parking lot wasn’t enough work for Larry Day, Tuesday’s violent thunderstorm nearly blew away this year’s edition of the Strangers in the Night Gourmet Gala in Pointe-Claire.
As one of the founders and organizers of the popular weekend event, Day could only watch as his tented venue was nearly carried away by high winds after the storm blew through the Fairview shopping centre parking lot.
“It came in so fast,” Day said on Wednesday.
He and dozens of other workers were under a massive tent structure at the time. They scrambled to safety.
“It was surreal,” he said. “From the time the wind came up, and it was raining a bit, then (the tent) shook, and it (the tent) went up, then it came down. That’s what gave us time. We all just said, ‘Run!’
“The wind took the tent and tossed it over there,” he said, motioning to a corner of the parking lot.
Debris also blew into one of the stages, causing it to move several feet.
Day said two people suffered injuries from flying debris, but nothing life-threatening.
“Everything was cleared out by today, and thank God nobody was killed,” Day said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, workers had already begun to rebuild the site and Day was amazed, and grateful, how quickly things had turned around.
“It looked like a war zone here yesterday. As you can see, it’s clean and clear now. And this is a statement: The big tent is up so that everyone who came by yesterday taking pictures for Facebook can see we’re back in business and the show is still going on. Styx will play here Friday night, and Fest West (Saturday) and KIDSFEST (Sunday) will go on as usual.
“As we’re all saying today, ‘Hey, it’s rock ’n’ roll.’ ”
But Day admitted he was scared when the storm blew in.
“You can’t help but not be scared. It’s funny, though. It’s a bit of being scared, but also being awed by the power that Mother Nature can unleash.”
The storm also left thousands of West Islanders without electricity after trees branches fell on power lines. Residents of Lachine, Dorval, Pointe-Claire, Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Dollard-desOrmeaux lost power, but HydroQuébec reported that most areas would have their power back by late Wednesday.
Daniel Arsenault, who lives on Windward Crescent in PointeClaire, said the storm left a trail of damaged trees in its wake.
“There is tree shrapnel everywhere,” Arsenault said. “It’s crazy. It looks like some sort of a war went on in our neighbourhood.
“And there’s a big tree at the end of the street that got knocked down and it knocked out the power lines. We got our power back late (Tuesday) night,” he said.
Broken branches were strewn around Lindsay Place High School in Pointe-Claire, but streets were clear.