Bishop’s very first Countryfest
On Saturday Oct. 19, the Bishop’s University Students’ Representative Council is organizing its first ever country festival on the university’s campus.
The event will include a fair in the quad in the afternoon with a variety of activities open to the local community, followed by a ticketed concert in the evening.
“The student population at Bishop’s is really into country music,” explained Véronic St-cyr, one of the organizers of the festival, “We have had country music nights in the past and they all sold out. We wanted to tailor the festival to our students.”
For their first edition of what they have called Countryfest, the SRC will be transforming the Quad into a country fair where activities will be taking place throughout the afternoon for the entire family. “It is in the quad from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday and we are inviting the entire community to join. It will be family friendly.”
Amongst some of the activities taking place include a mechanical bull ride, hamster ball races, a petting zoo, a blow up obstacle course, pumpkin decorating and much more.
There will also be a food truck on site to satisfy everyone’s appetites.
Entrance to the afternoon fair is free, although some of the activities require tickets to participate. The tickets can be purchased at the entrance at a low cost. The SRC organized the carnival so that many of the activities for children remain free of charge.
The day doesn’t end there! After the fair wraps up, there will be a country concert taking place from 8 p.m. to midnight. “The opening act is a local student band that usually go by the name Queen Street. The main headliner is a band called Sons of Daughters who are coming from Nashville. They have a song on Spotify with over a million streams. It will be a good time.”
In the evening, the Quad will be turned into a “beer garden” where alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be offered from 8 p.m. to midnight. The food truck will also be present on site until 10 p.m.
If you are hoping to attend the concert, you can purchase your tickets at the door for 40$, which includes two drinks.
Following the live entertainment, an after party will be taking place at the Gait; the bar on campus. For those who purchased their tickets during the presale, you have a guaranteed spot to the after party. For all other tickets, it costs 10$ to enter the after party. With a limited amount of space, you better get there fast!
Countryfest is an important event for the SRC. “It’s the first time we open an event to public,” mentioned Antoine Bèlair-rivard, director of communications and marketing for the SRC, “we would really like to make this big this year so that we can bring it back again.”
He explained that most of the events with the public and the students are usually kept separate and this year the SRC decided that they would love to merge everyone together. “We are excited to get the community on campus to join us.”
The funds raised at Countryfest from ticket sales goes back into the student body at Bishop’s University in many different ways. “All the money we make goes back to SRC to improve student experience,” explained Véronic. The health plan that students have access and the peer-tutoring program are only a few of the things that are covered by the SRC.
Get your cowboy boots on and make your way to Bishop’s this Saturday in support of their very first Countryfest!