Blues on the Beach 'Most Successful Year Yet'

By Erin Holroyd

On Saturday, July 20, Stratford celebrated our 4th Annual Blues on the Beach.

Nearly 10,000 people schlepped everything from tents, grills, blankets and coolers, to complete sets of lawn furniture, smokers, portable garages and tiki bars to Short Beach as early as 6 a.m. and set up parties like I’d never seen.

One family carved a table and chairs out of the sand, furnished it with an umbrella and a tablecloth.

By noon there were canopies as far as the eye could see and it was hot, really hot.

Some people came from as far as Hawaii, North Carolina, Virginia, Maine, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California, having planned their vacations, and family reunions to include Blues on the Beach; some of us just took advantage of the opportunity to assemble the usual suspects and make the event a special occasion.

It seemed like the entire town was there and happy to be together, a true sense of community.

The music was incredible, the best yet. Twice Around, Off the Grid (featuring John Lesak, stage manager extraordinaire), Primetime, The Pimpinella’s, The Chris D’Amato Band, Quincy Mumford and the Reason Why, and The Evan Goodrow Band blew us all away. Everyone danced. You just couldn’t help yourself, they were that good.

This was our most successful year yet and there are lots of people who work hard to ensure that success and deserve our sincerest thanks.

First and foremost, Mayor John Harkins, without him there is no Blues on the Beach. It was his idea and he continues to champion the event every year. He has encouraged new ideas, like including craft trucks and adding an hour to the event, to make sure Blues on the Beach remains a viable, fun, free, family friendly day that is available to everyone.

We couldn’t even begin to pull off an event of this magnitude without the enthusiastic support of the parks department, building inspector, town attorney, Stratford police, Stratford fire, EMS, economic development and the mayor’s office, all of whom went above and beyond to guarantee the day’s success and everyone’s safety.

Anyone who saw Short Beach early Sunday morning must have been shocked too. It looked as if it had been magically restored to the pristine condition it was prior to our get-together. I’m sure the parks guys wished it was magic!

Bishop, Jackson & Kelly and Diageo are just fabulous to Blues on the Beach in every way. They have supported us financially and are the biggest fans of the event. Celebrate Stratford and the Stratford Arts Commission also provided funds that made Blues on the Beach possible.

On a personal note, I am so grateful for the opportunity to organize Blues on the Beach. I have the best time seeing everybody and appreciate all of the support and kindness you’ve shown me. Let’s hope John let’s us do it again next year, if we do, I know I will see all of you there; monsoon rain, sweltering heat, won’t matter a bit, nothing keeps us down!

A special thanks to you compliant yellow commandos, you guys are the best friend’s a girl could ever ask for and then some. I would be lost without you, sometimes literally.

I hope to see you all next year!