Photo Courtesy East Coast Garden Party Facebook Page

By Tanner Smith

Community Event

East Coast Garden Party returns to Grande Prairie!

Jul 21, 2022 | 7:00 AM

The largest softball tournament in Grande Prairie, the East Coast Garden Party is back at South Bear Creek Park Thursday, July 21 for the first time since the pandemic.

Justin Elliot, Head Organizer of the East Coast Garden Party says they have some new additions for garden partiers this year.

“We ordered two big tents to come up out of a company out of Edmonton, and we’re turning them into pubs. I went and actually got pictures of this bar back in Newfoundland, so they went around the inside of all the walls of this pub back on George Street and we put them on banners, so we’re turning the inside of this tent to look like the bar in Newfoundland.”

Elliot says even the owner of the original bar in Newfoundland is one of the acts coming to Grande Prairie; D’arcy Broderick & Friends “so it will be like he’s playing in his own pub.”

There will be another tent hosting an 80’s rock theme with the inside decked out with banners and performances by a Motley Crue and Def Leopard cover band.

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Even softball games will carry a theme with tight and bright Friday and 80’s rock Saturday Elliot says.

He adds “this isn’t your typical ball tournament having people dressed up trying to not only win games but the costume contest and also live music during games.”

“Ball plays in the daytime then we shut that down, balls shuts down at night and then, boom! we open up our tent, there might be a game or two that overlaps with some music but they will definitely get to see all the shows, and there will be live music playing while there playing,” he says.

Elliot says one of their goals was to make this year’s garden party for everyone, not just adults and softball players, they know that families will be looking to come together and they have made some changes to how things ran in prior years.

“We got the midway rides this year so that’s cool, some new bouncy castles for the kids, carnival rides, and also this year we used to have our beer gardens spilt, but this year everybody said let’s license the whole works of it, so kids… adults, it’s the same as going to your local bowling alley.”

The Kickoff Party is Thursday, July 21 at 6 p.m. and a total of 14 bands will be performing this year with Mariana’s Trench and July Talk headlining the weekend.

For more information on the East Coast Garden Party and where to buy tickets, click here.