"Get 2 the Point": Big Plans, Short Timeframes And Question Marks

Jeff Green | May 15, 2024

Jamie Campbell wants to bring a major music festival to the heart of Sydenham at the Point Park, and he wants the first incarnation of the festival to take place in just over 2 months, on July 20.

He came to South Frontenac Council last week with his plans, and to ask for the use of the Point Park for his event.

The artists that he said he has talked to about performing at the inaugural Get 2 The Point event, as he has named it, include Madison Galloway, a Blues-Rock singer-songwriter who Campbell called “the next Janis Joplin”, and Windsor born, Toronto based country artist Kelsi Mayne.

The headliner is Chantal Kreviazuk, who Campbell said is verbally committed to performing. Kreviazuk is touring later this summer to support the re-release of her second album, Colour Moving and Still, on the 25th anniversary of its original release.

But before all that happens, a lot of things need to be brought into place.

In his presentation, Campbell told Council that he has a soft spot for Sydenham because it is where he grew up and attended high school. He said that he has been working in the film and event industries for 30 years, and is the go to guy to handle complicated logistics on film shoots. He was also the Production Manager for the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2016.

“I know how to deal with site preparation, crowd management, and all the details involved in an event like this, and have the contacts to bring in the people who can make it happen. I am only asking for a few things from the township,” he said.

These include: providing for the use of the Point Park as well as Centennial Park in Harrowsmith on July 20, closing off Wheatley Street for the day, supporting a special permit application to the liquor licensing board, suspending the parking bylaw for the day, providing water, and providing “5-year exclusivity on entertainment and sporting events for the location (outside of school and private events)

He said that he projects that the event will draw up to 5,000 attendees in its first year, and more each year afterwards, $30,000 to $45,000 in “real money injections” into the local economy, $30,000 in charitable donations to the Food Bank ($2,500), New Leaf Link ($2,500) and Sydenham High School's sound studio project ($25,000).

He also said that within three years, the project will build new bleachers for the Point football field at no cost to South Frontenac Township.

After he completed his presentation, Mayor Vandewal said “everybody at the township would have been real happy if you brought this to us in January or February.”

While making sure to say he is not against the proposal, Vandewal said he is reluctant to commit township staff to making sure the event comes off without creating any local issues, when they are already busy with other work.

He started his comments, however, by directly addressing his own reaction.

“Maybe, in your world you are saying, I can just handle all this, but that's not how it works in our world. I'm talking about our staff. I know how much work our staff is doing just to open up a free concert in Harrowsmith. Even though you say you are going to do it all, South Frontenac is the community that has to deal with everything here, and so does our staff.”

The matter was deferred to staff, and Chief Administrative Officer Louise Fragnito said she would be available to speak to Campbell the next day and put him in contact with the relevant staff members to deal with various aspects of the proposed concert.

Staff would then, report back to council, likely at least in a preliminary way, by the May 21 meeting, and council will be in a better position to give the go ahead, or not.

That time frame would already put Campbell behind schedule, even if council says yes. His presentation included a schedule, which envisioned verbal approval from the township by May 14, with marketing and ticket sales set to commence on May 16 and May 20, respectively.

As of May 14, CAO Fragnito reported that she has still never talked to Campbell, and the only information she has seen about the concert idea is what appeared in the slide deck that was presented to Council on May 7.