What a winter it was at the RECC

TRURO — On March 24 and 25, Brett Kissel performed at the Rath Eastlink Community Center (RECC), Tickets were free because of the RECC’S 10th anniversary, along with its continued recognition for front-line workers and first responders who stepped up during the pandemic.

More than 2,500 people attended each concert, meaning the RECC was at maximum capacity.

Partners at Eastlink livestreamed the whole event from three different camera angles, they streamed it nationwide and had more than 1,000 viewers.

On Saturday afternoon, there was also a gala where Kissel did acoustic songs and they invited front-line workers. There was no way they could have honoured all the front-line workers because there were so many of them, but they did try their best to do so.

“Feedback from the concert(s) has been overwhelmingly great, and there has been a lot of positivity on social media,” Mike Smith, director of partnership and communications at the RECC, said.

Without the “great grant writing” and eventually funding from all levels of government they wouldn’t have been able to put the concerts together.

“Big kudos to all of our staff and our partners for even getting through the whole thing,” Smith said.

Along with the Kissel concerts, they had a few other free events, including the Holiday Cirque show and April Wine in concert.

“The idea of putting on these events is intimidating because there's a big possible risk financially if the event flops,” Smith said, adding that was eased by the enthusiastic response from community members.

The RECC also hosted an NHL Alumni Game where they invited local leaders to play against former NHL players. This was another free event that proved to be popular.

Along with all these events, the Truro Jr. A Bearcats have been playing at the RECC and had a great season. The large interactive screen meant things like ‘kiss-cam’ and ‘dance-cam’ were part of the overall in-game experience and Bearcats fans seemed to love the added attractions.

As the 10th anniversary continues, they are going to have some membership promos, and people can also stay tuned to their social media for future events and other activities.

If you have any suggestions for the RECC, you are more than welcome to email them. There is a survey up on their website at ratheastlinkcommunitycentre.ca that anybody can use to provide feedback.