5th annual Shawville Lions’ Country Jamboree rocks and rolls

July 24, 2018

Caleb Nickerson

caleb@theequity.ca

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One of the paths through the trailer city was named in honour of the late Dr. Grant Rogers, a passionate volunteer and Lion who passed away in 2017. Last year’s Jamboree was dedicated in his memory.

Gord Barnes performs the second-to-last show of the Saturday night, backed up by the hardworking Unwound, who played all weekend long behind the individual musicians.

Joanne Dubeau, backed by the band Unwound, rocked the Jamboree on Friday afternoon. Tom Howard and Gail Orr take to the dance floor at the 5th annual Shawville Lions’ Country Jamboree.

As always, the Shawville Lions use the festival as a fundraiser for their various charitable initiatives. From left: Eric Smith, Pontiac MNA André Fortin, Ed Walsh (back), Elwyn Lang, and Barrie Murray

From left: Dixie Atkinson, Shirley-Mae Davis and Shirley Cummings sit in the shade of their trailers while taking in Joanne Dubeau at the Shawville Lions Country Jamboree on Friday afternoon.

The 5th annual Shawville Lions’ Country Jamboree ran from July 19 through July 22 at the Armstrong Farm, featuring many old school country acts for attendees to waltz the weekend away to. Pictured, Roddy McCann, channelling his inner Elvis, receives a kiss from Simone Vachon during the Saturday afternoon performance.

CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE July 19-22, 2018
An armada of over 200 RVs and camper trailers poured into Shawville throughout last week, staking out their spaces on the Armstrong Farm for the 5th annual Shawville Lions’ Country Jamboree.
Organizer and Lion Ed Walsh explained that they are part of a “circuit” of sorts for country festivals.
“We always stay on the same weekend, which is the third weekend in July, we follow Renfrew,” he said. “The people that were at the bluegrass festival in Renfrew, when they leave there, they come here.”
Some returning guests had come from quite a bit farther afield.

“We’ve got a couple here from Florida and a couple here from Victoria, B.C.,” Walsh added. “This is the second year that people have travelled from Victoria for the Jamboree.”
Though the music started Thursday night with an open mic featuring the house band Unwound, Walsh said that people had been posting up with their trailers for the entire week.
“We dont charge,” he said. “They go into town and spend some money locally, so it helps the economy out here too.”
Volunteers from the local Lions Club, along with their wives, kept everything running smoothly throughout the weekend. Walsh estimated that volunteers numbered around 30 in total.
On stage, Walsh said that there are usually a mix of performers from all parts of the country.
“We try to have roughly a 50 per cent turnover from year to year, but we try to mix in some local talent,” he said, pointing to local favourites like Fort Coulonge’s Phil Denault and Quyon’s Gail Gavan, as well as Renfrew’s Dan Paul Rogers and others.
Dixie Atkinson was lounging with her friends Shirley-Mae Davis and Shirley Cummings by their trailer neighbourhood on Friday afternoon. She said she’s been coming to the Jamboree since the start.
“We always camp as a group, that’s half the fun,” she said. “Then we go around visiting everyone.”

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