(Facebook/Gator's Grub Food Truck, Hotdog Cart and Pontoon Boat Grill)

By Angie Rolheiser

Live Music

Water concerts at Candle Lake continue this summer

Jul 2, 2021 | 2:14 PM

What started as a birthday party in a safe, socially distant setting with friends has grown into a series of water concerts; live performances on pontoon boats, at Candle Lake.

Gator’s Grub Food Truck at Candle Lake owner Velda Court told northeastNOW the very first concert they hosted was just supposed to be a low-key celebration.

“We had some family on the boat, performed a little concert and then people pulled up with their boats and long story short, they asked for more,” Court said. “We ended up having six throughout the summer last year.”

This Saturday, their ninth concert on the water will take place and most likely will be the largest for attendance. Court said they are expecting around 3,000 people to take in the concert.

“As it grew and developed, we had more local talent and performers coming out because they had no place to sing and play,” Court said. “They were very eager to come and just wanted to entertain people.”

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Attendees sit on the beach and can also join in boats on the water.

(Facebook/Gator’s Grub Food Truck, Hotdog Cart and Pontoon Boat Grill)

“We are actually shallow enough that people are floating in the water, aquasize and dancing in the water, they have floaties, kayaks, canoes and beyond,” Court said.

There are three pontoon boats that will be used for the concert on Saturday to abide by public health restrictions according to Court.

“Two are on sea legs and one is free floating,” Court said. “To support the singers and sound equipment we have the three boats, not just one now.”

Ideally, the concerts happen at Waskateena beach but that is weather dependent.

“Sometimes we have to move to another bay depending on direction of the wind,” Court said.

The very first concert had live music from Clint Moroz, who continues to host the event alongside Travis Lewis.

“As I went along and the event grew. I knew I didn’t want to go about hosting alone so I found out Travis Lewis played guitar and had a great voice, so I knew I needed this young talent to join me as a host,” Moroz said. “We have now done numerous shows together and we are looking forward to the next one.”

The duo calls themselves the Shenanigans and are always striving to make the concerts as fun as possible.

“If we get too serious then we are going to have to find someone else to do the gig,” Moroz said. “We came up with the name of Shenanigans for a reason. We simply want to create a vibe, create a climate of good times and laughter.”

Lewis reiterated the goal of having fun and being on a boat takes the experience to a different level.

“It’s nice that it is something different that not a lot of people are doing,” Lewis said.

Joining the ‘Shenanigans’ on the stage of the pontoon boats this Saturday will be Candle Lake local Nik Aiken, as well as The Ramblers from Meadow Lake. The Ramblers are a newly formed group which highlights Lee Bell and Natanis. The show gets underway at 6 p.m. and is free of charge thanks to the generosity of sponsors.

Another concert is scheduled for July 31 featuring Constant Reminder from James Smith Cree Nation as the headliner. On August 21, Will Ardell will play the first set followed by Heidi Munro and Scott Patrick.

The success of an ice concert in March might mean the possibility of another winter event to come as well.

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angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser