Cavendish Beach Music Festival: 1st day of concerts kicks off

The party has started for one the biggest events on P.E.I. this summer.

Over 100,000 country music fans are expected to attend the three-day CavendishBeachMusic Festival. It is estimated three-quarters of concert attendees come from off-Island.

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One of those people is Leona Deakin, who came from Owen Sound, Ont. Her mother, Jean Hood, lives on P.E.I. and is celebrating her 70th birthday.

"This is what she wanted for her birthday so I flew from Ontario to come and be here," said Deakin.

Tyler Randall came Thursday night from Halifax and is staying until Monday. He said he's looking forward to seeing Blake Shelton and "exploring a little bit."

Friday's lineup features The Band Perry, The Road Hammers, Black Jack Billy, Cold Creek County, The Washboard Union and Olivia Lane.

Busiest week on the tourism calendar

Musical acts started performing at noon and continue until 11 p.m.

It's estimated the music festival brings $14 to $16 million into the Island's economy every year.

"You always feel an excitement around the second week of July in P.E.I.," said organizer Jeff Squires

"This used to be a very soft week in our tourism calendar. It's now evolved to probably our busiest week on our tourism calendar and that's pretty neat."

'It's like a circus'

Businesses in Cavendish have been busy getting ready for the annual event.

"It's like a circus, there's so many people. It's school bus after school bus of people getting dropped off," said Miranda Ellis, Lost Anchor owner.

"And lots of people grabbing some fries for the walk and a lot of people grabbing some water and some pops for the walk. It's just nice to see all this traffic in the area."

Other businesses, like the North Shore Surf Company offer a discount for concert goers with a concert wristband.

"We bring in cowboy hats and we try to have a few specials we promote with the music festival. Anybody who has a bracelet comes in and they can get a discount inside. So we definitely try to drive people here," said store owner, Allan Kerwin.

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