Rock on the River organizers in Timmins to soon announce this year’s performers
The Timmins Festivals and Events Committee said this will be the first time it can announce who's performing at Rock on the River this soon.
“Yes, we’re very excited to be way more ahead than we’ve ever been before," said Jeremy Wilson, co-chair of the committee.
"The goal is to launch well before Christmas so we’re hoping within the next two weeks we’ll have the official launch so it really opens us up to a long term marketing plan vs just a few weeks.”
Wilson said the last band of eight acts scheduled for the event on the third weekend of July has just been signed.
What's really helped the organization get ahead on its planning for the next show, is the one-hundred and fifty-thousand dollar grant it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Foundation board members said there is stiff competition for one of these grants.
“You want to ensure the organization is sound," said Steve Kidd, a board member.
"You have to know there’s a need; you have to know the monies that are moved across the organization will remain sustainable; and you know what their contribution is to the community as a whole.”
The grant allowed the committee to buy things like; fencing, cable mats and barricades, among other items required to put on a large scale concert, that are not readily available to rent in the city.
“We’re working on opportunities to rent this to other organizations that need it as well, so it’s really an asset for the region and the community, not just for us," said Wilson.
He added the money saved for not having to rent those items anymore will allow the group to hire more expensive bands in the future.
The committee told CTV News that next summer's event is going to look a little different – it likes to experiment, but that's all it will reveal at this time.
Rock on the River 2023 is set for July 21 and 22 at Hollinger Park.
For more information on Rock on the River 2023, visit the Timmins Festivals and Events Committee on Facebook.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why wasn't the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over Canada?
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.

Thieves cut huge hole in Ottawa restaurant wall to get at jewelry store next door
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Rescuers scramble in Turkiye, Syria after quake kills 4,000
Rescue workers and civilians passed chunks of concrete and household goods across mountains of rubble Monday, moving tons of wreckage by hand in a desperate search for survivors trapped by a devastating earthquake.
New details emerge ahead of Trudeau-premiers' health-care meeting
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
Quebec minister 'surprised' asylum seekers given free bus tickets from New York City
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
The world's deadliest earthquakes since 2000
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook Turkiye and Syria on Monday, killing thousands of people. Here is a list of some of the world's deadliest earthquakes since 2000.
Mendicino: foreign-agent registry would need equity lens, could be part of 'tool box'
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says a registry to track foreign agents operating in Canada can only be implemented in lockstep with diverse communities.
Vaccine intake higher among people who knew someone who died of COVID-19: U.S. survey
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'