Nearly 4,000 people turned out to the Fairlea Volunteer Fire Department Annual Music Bash on Thursday, July 8, according to one of the event coordinators, Paco Grimmett.
“It was great, the atmosphere was really good,” said Grimmett. “Todd Cameron put on a great show, Riley Green put on an excellent show. The weather held off — it rained a little that morning and when it came close to the time to open the gates, the clouds parted and the sun shined.”
The concert series is a fundraiser for the fire department, looking to supplement the funding it receives from the state. The event organizers expected a large crowd, noting the concert was the area’s first since COVID-19 restrictions began in 2020.
“We were expecting a large crowd,” Grimmett said. “It wasn’t necessarily the first thing you could do [after COVID], like the Dandelion Festival, Alderson Fourth of July, the Ronceverte River Festival, but people want to get out and go do things. … There was an excellent turnout and we’re very appreciative of that. Without people showing up, we wouldn’t have any success.”
According to Grimmett, a potential delay, or new restrictions due to COVID-19, kept the event’s organizers nervous during planning and advertising.
“The bad thing was that we were late advertising because we still didn’t know what was going to happen. It was still a fundraiser, if we go and pay x amount of dollars, then we have to postpone, we already paid that. Then we have to pay it again.
Despite that potential setback, turnout was still tremendous.
“We were still kind of shocked,” Grimmett said. “It was almost 4,000 tickets! We expected big, but when it turned out to be big, we were still like ‘Oh!’ … The majority of our tickets were track seats. We did sell some Grandstand seats, but the majority were track seats.”
Grimmett thanked the event’s many sponsors and everyone who turned out, better equipping the Fairlea Volunteer Fire Department with the funds it needs to keep the town and the State Fair of West Virginia safe. It also helps them plan for the 2022 Fairlea Volunteer Fire Department Annual Music Bash.
“We’re looking forward to next year — We’ve already been asked ‘who’s next, who’s next?’” Grimmet joked. “Of course we don’t know who or what we’ll have for next year yet.”
Anyone looking to keep up with the event through the year can follow the Fairlea Volunteer Fire Department Annual Music Bash Facebook page, with photos and information.
“[On] behalf of the Fairlea VFD we thank each and everyone of you all that came out to the Riley Green concert and supported us,” reads the Facebook page. “We hope you all had a fun night and enjoyed the show.”
Photo courtesy of the Fairlea Volunteer Fire Department Annual Music Bash Facebook page. |
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