Curb the lights, on with the show this is it! The last-minute preparations were being made Friday for the first day of Stars and Thunder on Saturday June 24.
Barriers that resemble a short orange wall have been erected on Burnette Road turning it into a one-way street south only from Algonquin Blvd. East to Second Avenue.
All north bound traffic from Railway St. is being diverted to west bound on Second Ave.
The Timmins Transit Number 9 bus has also been diverted and no buses will be travelling northbound on Brunette Rd. To make the point clear signs have been posted and the Timmins Transit bus stop sign has been covered up with black garbage bags.
The concert stage is all set up and has added another dimension to the configuration of Fred Salvador Stadium. The stage is placed on the south west corner of Fred Salvador Stadium.
Workers were scrambling to put the final touches to the grounds for the opening on Saturday. Ticket holders will be admitted to the grounds beginning at 12 noon on Saturday and Sunday. During the week, the gates will open at 2 p.m.
There will also be performances at Gillies Lake that are free to the public. Cultural, artistic, literary and musical activities will be featured at the Gillies Lake location.
For the next week beginning tomorrow there will major changes to the the traffic patterns, parking and public transit between June 24 and July 4.
To minimize the risk to public safety as concert-goers will be crossing to get to the Fred Salvador Stadium in Hollinger Park, Brunette Road has been converted to a one-way street until 6 p.m. on July 4. Only southbound traffic will be permitted to access local businesses.
Those wishing to access Water Tower Road must get special permission.
The city of Timmins urges all concert goers to take advantage of the various shuttle services that will be provided including Handy Transit (you must book in advance) as parking downtown will be extremely limited during the festival hours.
Out of town guests may take shuttles from the hotels listed on the Stars and Thunder website. Two shuttle buses pick up areas noted by the city are on Vipond Rd. in Schumacher and Spruce St. S. in Timmins by the south snow dump area.
Shuttle buses will be provided from this location and the schedule is posted on the festival website.
Free shuttle services and Handi Transit will be provided from June 24 to June 30 from noon until midnight. Check the Stars and Thunder website for route guides.
First Student transportation will be providing a shuttle service from all partner sites including, hotels, camping grounds. that are advertised on the Stars and Thunder website.
Handi Transit will be running on July 1 and free shuttle buses will be offered to various locations and an accessible shuttle will be provided from the CMHA parking lot on the corner of Brunette Road and Second Avenue on July 1.
Accessible drop offs by the entry gate will be permitted only for those with limited mobility. People who require support workers should note that the support worker must have a ticket to gain admission to the grounds. Also, the bringing of service animals are discouraged. Please consult the Stars and Thunder website. The noise from the grounds and the fireworks may unsettle service animals according to the city spokespersons.
The Fred Salvador Stadium will be a non-smoking area. No smoking is allowed anywhere on the grounds.
As well, what you can and cannot bring to the concert is spelled out in detail on the website. As an overview, you cannot bring backpacks, alcohol, drugs, cameras or video cameras, lawn chairs, tents, pets, self sticks, laser pointers, drones, guns, knives, remote control cars or wagons and a bunch of other stuff so check the website.
The concerts begin in the afternoon and run till 10:00 p.m.
The fireworks shows will be expected to start at 10 p.m. and end at 10:30 p.m. following the concert headliner.
The schedule for the first two days are:
Saturday June 24
Noon – Gates Open
2 p.m. – Yvan & The Bandidos
3:15 p.m. – Estelle Deschamps and the RoadRyders
4:45 p.m. – Cindy Doire
6:30 p.m. – LGS
8:45 p.m. – Michel Pagliaro
10:30 p.m. – Fireworks display by Team France represented by Féérie Feux D’Artifices, Saint-Herblain, France
Sunday, June 25
Noon – Gates Open
2 p.m. – Relic Kings
3:15 p.m. – Céleste Lévis
4:45 p.m. – Scarlett Jane
6:30 p.m. – Sass Jordan
8:30 p.m. – David Wilcox
10:30 p.m. – Fireworks display by Team Italy represented by Ipon Fireworks, Ottaviano, Naples, Italy
