PHOTOS
SUMMERFEST WELCOMES 2022 TITLE SPONSOR
Deep River Summerfest is proud to welcome local law firm, Primeau Law Professional Corporation, as this year’s title sponsor! Being a festival that prides itself on supporting local and showcasing home-grown talent, we are excited to have that reflected in our title sponsor as well. After four years of anticipation, our community is excited to get back to the music and events and this year’s festival, Summerfest is ready to deliver! Jodie Primeau, founder and owner of Primeau Law, is just as excited as everyone else. A Deep River local who grew up attending and performing at Summerfest, Jodie shares a lot of history with the festival. Following the establishment of Deep River’s first woman-owned law firm, Primeau Law, in 2019, Jodie has been looking forward to the opportunity of sponsoring an event that has left her with so many great memories over the years. The Summerfest team had a chance to sit down with Jodie and learn more about her experiences and connection to the event.
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So what does Summerfest mean to the Deep River lawyer? Jodie described it as, “a unique and wonderful opportunity for our community to come together to do something positive, community-building, and active. It reaches everyone, regardless of background, and it’s a place to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and solidify bonds with other members of the community. It’s by far my favourite time of year and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
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Summerfest has changed throughout the years, but one thing that’s stayed consistent has been our community’s mobilization to work together and create a festival with a friendly feel that rivals big city festivals. Jodie has echoed this sentiment, sharing that the festival is a place to, “showcase all of the opportunities that our community has to offer.”
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Primeau Law is a local, professional, community-focused firm – and there’s nothing more local than Summerfest. It’s important to Jodie that the people of our community get the services and professional advice available from big city firms, delivered by an accredited local who is familiar with the eccentricities of our community. The Primeau Law team is there for community members “from the start to the end,” from buying our first homes to starting a small business, navigating the legal challenges of life, helping us through our marriages, and protecting our assets through a will. For Jodie, it’s clear that her own values are engrained in her business: “I was born and raised here, I’m back here for my adult life, and I imagine I’ll be here until the end of my life as well.”
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Jodie has also been a regular performer at Summerfest, debuting on-stage in the summer of her ninth grade. She is known to rock the guitar and play a mean triangle. As for this summer, we can expect to find Jodie participating as an enthusiastic audience member in between triathlon races. This will be Jodie’s first summer attending as a parent, and with that comes the opportunity to re-live her favourite parts of Summerfest all over again through the eyes of her daughter, the person she loves most in this world.
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When asked about Jodie’s favourite Summerfest memory, she had one thing to say: “no comment”!
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Summerfest is sure to leave us all with what we can only speculate are great memories like Jodie’s. We can’t wait to see you there from July 29 – 31 in downtown Deep River, and we would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Jodie as our title sponsor this year.
SUMMERFEST MEMORIES
By Dave Thompson
Like most great ideas, the concept of Summerfest was hatched over a couple of beers. As I recall through the fog of age, we were sitting in the Bear's Den after a Chamber of Commerce meeting and the President of the Chamber, Jim Dickens, muttered, "what this Town needs is a party"!
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We brainstormed throughout the evening and the grandness of our plans grew exponentially with the intake of the beverages. Thankfully someone was jotting down notes on the back of the beer coasters (or in Jim's case...Rum coasters) so it would all make sense in the morning.
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The first dose of reality occurred when we realized the Chamber only had $1,000 in the bank. That might get us a few cases of beer, an 8-track player and some stale chips...not exactly a summertime extravaganza.
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There was even some reluctance on the part of the Treasurer to release the cash on such an unproven concept. Typical of Jim's feisty spirit, I recall him saying, "keep your damn money...I'll pay for it out of my own pocket".
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Thus Summerfest was born. The initial driving forces included Alanna O'Brien and Doug Brown with significant volunteer help from both the Kinsmen and Lions Clubs.
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I recall being Master of Ceremonies during the opening festivities in front of Giant Tiger. It was a beautiful evening with a lot of folks milling around. During a gymnastics demonstration, one of the young girls broke her ankle...we hoped this was not a harbinger of things to come.
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With most of the activity on the upper level of the campus, the beer tent was shoehorned beside the bowling alley and the beers were stored in canoes filled with ice. The musical entertainment was a band called Lowdown from London.
How far we have come!
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Summerfest has had amazing stewardship over the many years including the two Chris's (Harding and Carroll) and now the eclectic duo of Susan Morris and Alastair McIvor. But what makes the event work is the countless number of volunteers who have gladly lent a hand over the years.
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Whether is was the watchful eye of Barry Burtch over the kegs in the beer tent or the dedicated support provided by Gary McAnulty and the much needed sanitation facilities, Summerfest is all about the people who make a contribution to make it happen.
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The event is so much more than a beer tent with amazing entertainment. It is a kaleidoscope of cultural, sporting and family activities that continues to draw friends and family back to Deep River.
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Amazing what you can do with $1,000!