Thousands more Music in the Park guests compared to last year

KAMLOOPS – Thanks to some big events taking place in downtown Kamloops this summer, Music in the Park has far surpassed its 2015 attendance record.

Henry Small, owner of Small World Productions, says events like Ribfest, BCLC night and The Tragically Hip final concert broadcast led to an attendance of about 60,000 for Music in the Park.

"There would have been more, but we had such bad weather in July and some in August for that matter," Small says. "But the crowds in general were larger."

Small says overall attendance last year was around 50,000 for the summer night series. He says the 60,000 figure from this year is still not confirmed, but it is a conservative estimate.

Kamloops Ribfest took place the first weekend of August, and festival organziers tweeted today, Sept. 2, the festival raised more than $117,000 for the community.

The Tragically Hip's final concert was shown in Riverside Park and McDonald Park at the end of August. A total of about 5,200 people attended both screenings and $6,500 was collected for cancer research.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ashley Legassic or call 250-319-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.