Flatbush has a long and proud history, but these days, in particular, it rocks.
Festival-goers filled the Flatbush Community Complex yard with campers and tents June 16 to enjoy a full day of activities as the prairie powerfest joined forces with the Flatbush Funky Farm Festival, bringing with it a parade, slo-pitch tournament, bouncy castles and a full steak dinner, which drew over 200 people alone.
“It’s great food and great people,” said lifelong Flatbush resident Dwight Heidman. “It was a nice turnout this year and best of all it didn’t rain.”
Throughout the day, residents sold 50/50 tickets to help fund the Flatbush Nursery School. In the end, $512 was collected and split between the school and the lucky winner.
“It was our biggest 50/50 ever,” said organizer Kathy McKnight. “The ball teams had a really good time, it’s been a long day but a great day.”
While many were there to see the band, people came out for all sorts of reasons. Some came for the food, some came for the games and others came for the face painting.
“I like seeing my friends,” said Andrew Jimmo from under a mask of Edmonton Oilers colours. “I don’t get to see a lot of these guys often.”
Four teams competed in the slo-pitch tournament, where first place squad “Looking to Score” walked away with $300 in prize money. Meanwhile, the last-place team “No Glove, No Love” walked away with a case of beer.
Rocking Flatbush for the third time was the band Pushing Ginger!, formerly known as Big Red Shoe, which previously opened for April Wine and the AC/DC tribute band Thunderstruck, but this time had the stage to themselves for a four-hour marathon of classic rock.
“We love coming out here,” said bass guitarist and lead singer Ron Willis. “Everyone’s really great and they have a lot of fun. It’s a long drive, but a really nice one. We like to follow the crowd and see what they’re into. If they want some AD/DC, we do that, if they want CCR, we go that route.”
Dancers busted a move to both as the band move through several sets of classic rock and country, ranging from playing classics like Twist and Shout to Bad Case of Loving You.
While the logistics of getting everything happening on the same day were daunting, organizers said they were happy with how the day went and were already looking toward next year’s party.
“I’m not sure if we’ll merge with the festival again, that was a bit of an experiment,” said McKnight. “But we’re definitely doing the show again.”
