New home for hoedown.
The Capital Hoedown decided not to host its second annual country music festival on lands beside the Rideau Carleton Raceway, because the land would take too long to clear and beautify before the August festival.
Emma Jackson
For all its festival potential, Ottawa South was snubbed
again as the Capital Hoedown country music festival announced it would be
hosting its August country music festival at Lebreton Flats instead of at the
Rideau Carleton Raceway.
Citing similar concerns as the SuperEx board when it decided
to cancel bringing the exhibition to empty lands it owns in Ottawa South,
Capital Hoedown and Concert International president Denis Benoit said he was
concerned about getting the raceway’s space ready for the summer event.
“We’d have to convert it, level it out, take the trees out,
and because the entertainment lineup is as big as it is we didn’t want to take
any chances,” he said.
The inaugural country music festival was held at the Rideau
Carleton Raceway (RCR) in Ottawa South last summer, and Concert International,
which organizes the country music festival, was in the process of leasing 180
acres of property adjacent to the Rideau Carleton Raceway this year in an
effort to expand. But since the land isn’t cleared, Benoit said they moved to
Lebreton Flats at the last minute.
This year’s lineup includes superstars such as Carrie
Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Kenny Chesney, and the festival is expecting up
to 45,000 visitors a day between August 11 and 13. Although the raceway space
would have been sufficient, Lebreton Flats has been proven through the success
of the annual 12-day Bluesfest event that drew more than 400,000 people last
summer.
Apart from offering all the amenities, the site is also
blessed with good aesthetics. “For a concert site you want it to be beautiful,”
Benoit noted.
The RCR’s general manager Jean Larose said he doesn’t think
the loss of the contract will affect business at the racetrack this summer,
although he did tell Ottawa This Week that the loss of SuperEx across the
street this summer was disappointing.
But 2012 could be Ottawa South’s year for festivals. SuperEx
has said it plans to host the ex in Ottawa South in 2012, and Benoit didn’t
rule out returning to the raceway property next summer.
“That’s not to say we won’t be there in the future, because
there’s lots of room to expand there, and we have a good relationship with (the
raceway),” he said.
General admission passports for the three-day festival
running August 11 to 13 cost $175, and single day tickets will be $75 through
Capital Tickets. Twenty-five hundred VIP passports, which offer free parking,
private bars and washrooms and special seating, will be available for $250.
Kenny Chesney will headline the event on Thurs. August 11,
which will also feature Doc Walker and Tara Oram. On Friday, august 12, Carrie
Underwood and Miranda Lambert will draw crowds with Billy Currington. On
Saturday, August 13 the Rascal Flatts will headline for a day-long lineup that
includes Sara Evans, Easton Corbin, Justin Moore, The Keats and more.
More artists and performers will be announced as the summer
event gets closer.