Expanded Privateer Days a success

Privateer Days Commission Chair, Ann Langille said over all, the weekend went very well.

With over 400 musicians performing throughout the weekend at nine venues, she said a tremendous amount of events were going on, maybe even a little bit more than there should have been.

“This is the first time we tried something like this and I think over all it was accepted really well once people got used to the change of date,” Langille said.

The rain held up a few events, she said - “it did hurt us, no doubt” - but the crowds on Saturday were amazing.

Although Privateer Days did not bring in as much money as it has in the past, Langille said the Privateer Days Commission is a diligent group and will fundraise to bring it back to where they had been.

They also plan to bring back musical entertainment next year, but with some changes.

She said the Privateer Days volunteers will sit down and discuss what worked and what didn’t and reassess it from there.

Langille also received comments about the date change from the Canada Day weekend to July 5-8.

She explained they set their dates five years in advance and this year’s date had been advertised since 2004 on their website.

Next year, Privateer Days will be held July 3-6 and, in 2009, it will be held from July 2-5.

She also thanked the hundreds of volunteers “who just worked their hearts out to make it a great weekend for everyone.

“It takes a community to put on a community festival,” she said.