The Trail Smoke Eaters are entering exciting and uncharted territory with their 2023 Smokiepalooza event in East Trail next month.
The Smoke Eaters will host their very first music festival on Sept. 9, promising an evening of great music and food at a unique and accessible venue, the City of Trail’s iconic Jason Bay Field at Butler Park.
“As an organization, we try to think outside the box on different events that we can bring to Trail, especially during our off-season,” said Smoke Eaters corporate sales and events manager Allison McCarthy. “We realized that there are a lot of great music festivals happening in other cities, and we felt it was Trail’s time to take part in the music fest fun. Thus, the creation of Smokiepalooza!”
This inaugural all-ages music festival will feature a variety of food trucks, beer gardens, the Kid Zone and an impressive musical lineup of local Kootenay bands.
“The grand stands will be available for seating, they also have a lot of bleacher seats along the baselines, and people are welcome to bring their lawn chairs and blankets so they can sit in the infield,” said McCarthy.
The event leads up to the start of the BCHL hockey season, with the Smoke Eaters first exhibition game on Sept. 3 in Vernon, followed by their exhibition home opener on Sept. 6 against Cranbrook, and a game in Penticton on Sept. 8, a day prior to Smokiepalooza.
So the Smoke Eater players will all be on site to help out, meet the community, and rock the park with three popular local bands including Hairlöss, TruckVanCar, and Chinlock.
Hairlöss is a five-piece group of dads covering rock hits from the past and present and will kick off the event at 4 p.m.
TruckVanCar is an alternative soul-reggae-rock band from Rossland playing originals and covers with a three-part harmony that will play on stage from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Headlining the event will be Chinlock a local Kootenay five-piece band featuring everything from classic and modern rock to country and ballads to wrap up the evening from 8 to 10 p.m.
“We hope that you will be a part of a new Trail tradition,” said McCarthy. “Make sure to get the benefit of early bird pricing and to secure your spot.”
Tickets will be available online at trailsmokeeaters.com and in the Smokies Store at the Trail Memorial Centre, or at the Butler Park entrance on event day, depending on availability.
Early Bird adult/senior tickets can be purchased before August 31 for $38. After that date, adult/seniors are $45, youth 13-18 $20, kids eight to 12 are $15, and seven and under are free.
The Smokiepalooza is sponsored by AM Ford and Power Paving.
Trail will continue its exhibition season at home versus the Powell River Kings and the Prince George Spruce Kings at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 and 16 respectively. They wrap up their exhibition season Sept. 16 in Cranbrook.
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