Backyard stage brings live music opportunities to Fort Saskatchewan neighborhood
A Fort Saskatchewan family is looking to create a new live music venue in their community – right in their backyard.
Emmet Van Etten was getting ready Saturday for the first live show at a concert stage he built in his backyard, one he's hoping will bring the community together and breathe some life into the city's live music scene.
Van Etten is a professional drummer and he said he wanted to create a space where his neighbors could come and appreciate live music. It's something he said people are needing after the pandemic.
He said the project was inspired by his touring days, when he would play all sorts of smaller venues, including garages and people's homes.
"It's amazing to be welcomed into somebody's house," Van Etten said. "You meet their neighbors and you meet the community, and it's just a wonderful experience and it really touched me every time.
"There was something just sweet about the intimacy of a backyard concert, and I've always loved it."
Setting up his own backyard stage is an opportunity for him to recreate that experience for other musicians, Van Etten said, giving them a safe place to stop and maybe make a little money and meet the community. He added that he's handed his phone number out around the neighborhood so people can call if there are any questions - or complaints.
"I haven’t had any calls, so we’ll see what happens," he said.
The family-friendly stage is called Van Haven. Shows will play 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., to make sure there's time to get the kids to bed afterwards.
"Bedtimes are very important," he said, as he has two children five and under. "We felt that that is a good time for families to come out and still have time to see the band."
Reily Seddon, one of Van Etten's neighbors, said she's excited by the project. She especially appreciates that the shows are timed in a way that won't disrupt her two-year-old son's naptime, she said, and looks forward to connecting with other parents in the neighborhood.
"We all kind of come home, we go to work, we do our thing and put our kids to bed," Seddon said. "You kind of stay at your place and don’t really have the chance to get out and meet people per se, so I’m really looking forward to it, to be able to connect with everybody in the neighbourhood."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.