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Rock the Park: Music fest to light up Parksville’s brand new outdoor stage

Aug. 5 to 7 festival joins 5-week Parksville Beach Fest, with activities for all ages
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Zach Stevenson’s Buddy Holly Tribute is one of many highlights of the Mid-Island Co-op Rock the Park Music Festival, Aug. 5 to 7.

The Parksville Beach Festival is already known for its stunning sand sculptures and family-focused activities, but this year, things are really going to rock!

A brand new addition to the 5 1/2-week beach festival, Mid-Island Co-op Rock the Park Music Festival is a three-day ticketed event, Aug. 5 to 7, that features both world-class tribute bands and performances by perennial Island favourites!

“There’s really something for everyone in this line-up,” says Lloyd Derry, Entertainment Director for the Parksville Beach Fest Society.

The tribute lineup showcases everyone from the Triple Shot of Classic Rock (Heart, Bad Company & Pat Benatar), to the Linda Ronstadt Tribute, the Joe Cocker Experience, the Fab Fourever Beatles Tribute, the Eagles Eyes Eagles Tribute and Zach Stevenso’s Buddy Holly Tribute. “He’s performed Buddy Holly more than Buddy Holly did,” Derry says.

Also on stage will be Island rock-and-rollers including Kenny and the Cruisers, The Timebenders, The Apollos, Johnny Inappropriate, Time Well-Wasted and Younger than Yesterday.

The music festival is part of the 2022 Parksville Beach Festival, with more than five weeks of family-friendly activities on and around Parksville’s vast sandy beach, where the Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition welcomes professional sculptors from all over the world crafting their designs July 14 to 17. The finished sculptures remain on exhibit through Aug. 21.

The Eagles Eyes tribute will thrill Eagles fans when they hit the stage for the Mid-Island Co-op Rock the Park Music Festival, part of the Parksville Beach Festival.
The Eagles Eyes tribute will thrill Eagles fans when they hit the stage for the Mid-Island Co-op Rock the Park Music Festival, part of the Parksville Beach Festival.

READ MORE: Sun, sand + celebrations: Festival brings international sand sculptors to Parksville

Beyond the outstanding music line-up, Rock the Park will also be the inaugural festival for the brand new Parksville Outdoor Theatre for the Performing Arts. Located in Parksville Community Park, the outdoor theatre is a modern, accessible outdoor theatre, designed to accommodate a wide range of uses, from small musical groups to symphony orchestras, dance troupes, stage plays, musical theatre, cultural presentations and community celebrations.

“The outdoor theatre has been a dream of the Parksville Beach Fest Society for many years – they want it to be a legacy for Vancouver Island, and the community of Parksville,” Derry says.

With its stellar setting and exceptional acoustics, “we believe the stage will be the premiere outdoor entertainment facility on Vancouver Island,” adds Derry, a life-long musician.

Plan your Rock the Park visit:

Tickets are available online here or in-person at McMillan Arts Centre, 133 McMillan St., Parksville, Tuesday thru Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pick up your three-day pass, including VIP seating with chair for $85. General admission is $60 for a three-day pass or $30 for a single day. Students aged 13 to 18 years are $10 and children 12 and younger are free with a parent.

Aug. 5 – Gates open at 1:15 p.m., with music from 2:45 to 8:15 p.m.

Aug. 6 – Gates open at 10:30 a.m., with music from noon to 9:15 p.m.

Aug. 7 – Gates open at 10:30 a.m., with music from noon to 7:30 p.m.

Guests will receive wristbands, letting them come and go throughout the festival, and food trucks will also be on-site