A new St. Patrick’s Day party is joining Pontiac’s usual roster of celebrations honouring the Irish saint. This Saturday, Mar. 15, in the basement of Portage du Fort’s newly renovated town hall, a lineup of local musicians will be performing to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day all afternoon.
The event is being organized by Erin Davis, lead singer of Shawville-based hard-rock band Beyond Driven.
“My family is very Irish and the Irish heritage in Portage is quite strong as well,” Davis said. “So we decided to give it a go this year at the town hall which just underwent a lot of renovations.”
Davis said this event will feature both big names and new talent, with an emphasis on local.
“With everything going on in the world today, it’s so important to spotlight local talent,” Davis said. “All of the performers are either from the Pontiac or the Ottawa Valley.”
She hopes this will remind people that Portage du Fort has a lot of love for live music.
“The comment that I’ve received the most about this event is, ‘Oh, in Portage? Nothing happens in Portage,’” Davis said. “I find that folks in Portage really appreciate live music so I’m just excited to make it happen steps from their doors.”
Davis said many of the performers are up-and-coming in the area. Some names on the lineup include Kyle Pallen, Holly Leach-Wickens, Devin Heaton, Wheel House, Small Town Rootz and Grammy nominee Danny Sylvester.
“Some of our performers have not performed a lot of shows,” Davis said. “They’re super talented so I’m happy that they’ll get the opportunity to showcase that as well.”
Davis reached out to Dominique Thompson, and Martin Hérault, co-owners of the town’s Dépanneur Thompson to see if they would be interested in supporting the event, to which they quickly agreed.
“Helping the community is the best feeling ever,” Hérault said. “When Erin asked me about the event, I said yes right away. I know her and I know this will be good for the community.”
Hérault said Dépanneur Thompson will staff the bar Saturday and is providing alcohol at a discounted price.
He also said they will be donating some door prizes to the event, which he hopes will bring the community together for a good time.
“We do it for the fun, I love a good party,” Hérault said. “There’s nothing better to bring people together.”
Davis said there will be a variety of genres of music performed throughout the afternoon. Her band will be embracing the theme of the event, performing their usual rock along with country and Irish folk music.
While the event will coincide with a lot of St. Paddy’s Day celebrations across the Pontiac, Davis said this event is a bit unique because it will be kid-friendly.
“I think it’s important that young kids get to see this kind of stuff,” Davis said. “They tend to appreciate it more than anyone else.”
Lynne Cameron, longtime mayor of Portage du Fort, said the event, one of the first to be held in the renovated town hall, has been the talk of the town.
“There’s lots of chatter about it, it’s wonderful,” Cameron said. “I think everybody’s really looking forward to it.”
Davis hopes this will show the demand for live music in Portage du Fort.
“The success of this event will be setting the stage for us to organize more things here,” Davis said. “It will demonstrate that there’s a supply and demand for this type of stuff in Portage, and a lot of local talent.”
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Hérault, who has been selling tickets for the event at Dépanneur Thompson, said as of Monday afternoon, there were only 12 left.
