In what organizers say is the biggest concert the Yukon has held in recent history, Our Lady Peace packed Shipyards Park on Saturday, June 28.
The well-attended free show was put on in a partnership between the Yukon Arts Centre and Lotteries Yukon in celebration of the lottery corporation’s 50th anniversary.
Leading up to Our Lady Peace hitting the new Yukon Arts Centre mobile stage, there was four hours of live music from local acts on the stage attached to the Frank Slim Building in Shipyards Park. Following an opening prayer, the crowd heard from the Rising Sun Singers, Yukon Taiko, Lianne Cranfield, Boyd Benjamin and Kevin Barr, Jasmine Netsena and John from Dawson.
There was additional entertainment in the form of arts and crafts workshops and shows from the Yukon Circus Society.
Over the course of the whole day and evening, arts centre director of programming Michele Emslie estimated in excess of 5,000 people were in the park.
When it comes to bringing large Canadian acts such as Our Lady Peace to the Yukon, Emslie said it comes down to being able to offer the right fee. She said more experience putting on a show this size was earned with the show featuring Serena Ryder and the Strumbellas that the arts centre put on in 2022.
Emslie described the arts centre’s new mobile stage, a purchase made possible by Lotteries Yukon, as a “game changer” for such events. She said previously mobile stages for large events were rented and trucked up from Edmonton or Vancouver. Along with the costs, she noted the risk of floods and fires closing the highway and spoiling the fun.
The stage will see considerable use over the rest of the summer. Emslie said it will be going to the Haa Kusteeyí celebration in Carcross in late July, the Dawson City Music Festival and Watson Lake for Discovery Day. The stage will also be back at Shipyards Park in Whitehorse on Aug. 30 for another free concert from Canadian rock band 54-40.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
