The asphalt at Prospera Place is undergoing its annual transformation.
The parking lot of the multi-purpose entertainment and sports facility is being transformed into the ultimate festival grounds for Rock the Lake, a three-day music festival.
Each year, the event brings more than 5,000 fans together to see some of their favourite musicians perform. This year, organizers have focused on Canadian talent.
“This is the first time in festival history we have had an all-Canadian lineup,” said Trish Jelinski, GSL Group vice-president of sales, sports & entertainment.
Jelinski says the all-Canadian theme extends past the stage and onto the grounds.
“We have collaborated with all our vendors and our partners, so when you come on site, you will see the best of Canadian brands.”
It takes a week and hundreds of people to prepare the grounds for the festival. Some rain on Wednesday morning kept the crew setting up everything from the Okanagan’s SW Event Technology cool as they set up the stage.
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“We’ll put in about eight hours today, and then tomorrow we will load in all the production,” said Chad Smith, SW Event Technology project manager.
This year, the stage that will host the likes of Simple Plan, Crash Test Dummies, the Sam Roberts Band and more.
“This is a mobile stage so it’s basically everything is self contained, hydraulics pop the roof up,” said Smith. “We just build out from there.”
This year, the lineup also includes local musicians, Lucky Monkey and Crush XO, who earned their spots at a Battle of the Bands earlier this year.
“It’s like I don’t really understand it in my brain still, it’s just really cool to be on the same stage with people that I used to listen to growing up,” said Shalisa Liesch, Crush XO band member.
The opportunity to perform with some of her idols is the chance of a lifetime.
“It’s the biggest show we have ever done,” said Liesch. “We did not expect this, but we are pretty excited.”
Crush XO will open for Simple Plan on Saturday, confirming there’s not a shortage of talent right here in the Okanagan.
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3-day music festival Rock the Lake features all-Canadian lineup for 2025
