Smash hit for Shazamfest 2017

anticipated Men Without Hats show did not disappoint either, according to the coordinator, who said that they were “ready to come back anytime.”

“It was definitely one of the best shows we’ve had at Shazam. Everyone enjoyed themselves,” he said. “Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it myself, but people loved it and they loved it too. They stayed and partied with us after the show. It was pretty epic.”

Przytyk added with a laugh that “I had to tow their bus, pull them out of the mud at 2:30 a.m. It was fun.”

“There were more kids than ever,” he added. “People stayed longer. We only sold about 50 day tickets. The rest were weekend passes. There are still people here!”

Przytyk described the success of the other attractions of Shazamfest as well.

“The Montreal bus was completely filled, the workshops were well attended and candy land (the carnival games and rides at Shazam) was an absolute hit. People had so much fun, it brought a whole new dimension.”

He also qualified the wrestling show, accompanied by a string quartet, as epic. “It was absolutely amazing. Hopefully they’ll come back in years to come.”

As for the festival’s famously ‘green’ mandate, Przytyk managed to keep waste at a minimum once again. Last year, with 2 000 people on site, a mere 12 bags of garbage were collected at the end of the celebrations.

“We’re still cleaning. I just got back from the dump,” he said. “We stayed pretty much the same as last year, with around 15 bags.”

Though cleanup isn’t even done yet, an exhausted Przytyk is already working on a new upcoming project, Yonifest, a midwifery conference taking place on the Shazamfest grounds on Aug.4-6.

“Once we wrap up here I’m taking a well deserved vacation. I’ve worked what must be over 200 hours and haven’t gotten more than three or five hours of sleep a night for the past two weeks,” he said, showing the amount of effort that goes into these types of events. “I’m not even going to think of Shazam 2018 until September!”