Orillia is the City of Festivals...

Please join us this September 19, 20 and 21, 2008 as we add to that reputation with the second annual Orillia Beatles Celebration ... the first community-based Beatles festival in Canada.

We offer three days of indoor and outdoor fun, music, concerts, events, memorabilia, education and museum-quality displays in a wonderful and family-friendly setting.

Thirty-eight years after their break up, The Beatles continue to enjoy enormous popularity. The Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show “Love” has drawn record crowds, and the Beatles “Love” CD earned great acclaim. Julie Taymor’s feature film, “Across the Universe”, was an extraordinary success. The American Idol television show featured a number of nights of Beatles music. Last year, the music of The Beatles generated eight Grammy Award nominations.

In 2007, Sir Paul McCartney, Richard Starkey, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono reported revenues of 2.7 million pounds each from the sale of Beatles releases, DVDs and videos.

This year, Liverpool, home of The Beatles, was named the European Capital of Culture. On July 10, 2008, Liverpool celebrates the first ever Beatles Day, which will help generate funds for Alder Hey Children’s’ Hospital and the ECHO’s Liverpool Unites. Paul McCartney has planned selected concerts and Ringo Starr and his All Starr Tour, his tenth, kicked off at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Ringo is also writing a musical about his life with Dave Stewart, called The Hole in the Fence. This summer, Sir Paul McCartney was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree in Music from Yale University. In addition, he performed before 200,000 fans in Quebec City as part of that city's 400th anniversary celebrations.

This year, we are focusing our attention on Beatles’ women.

May Pang was the personal assistant to John Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York.
One day in June 1973, Yoko approached May and explained that she and John needed a break from each other, and that May would be his companion, effective immediately.

So began an 18-month loving relationship that has become known as “Lennon's Lost Weekend.” During this period, John was actually the most productive and successful in his post-Beatles career. He achieved his first #1 single, Whatever Gets You Through The Night, his first #1 album, Walls And Bridges, and he was at the forefront of celebrity collaborations working with Elton John, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. During their relationship, May continued as John's production assistant and coordinator at John's request. Her efforts were rewarded with an RIAA Gold Record Award for Walls and Bridges.

May Pang will be interviewed, meet guests, and sell her book on her life with John, Instamatic Karma, and her Feng Shui Collection of jewellery and apparel. www.maypang.com

Nancy Lee Andrews is a former international model and an accomplished photographer. She met Ringo Starr through John Lennon who introduced them in May of 1974. She shared her life with Ringo for six years. (1974-1980)

She branched out into the music business, snapping photos of legendary artists such as George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Band, Keith Moon, Ted Nugent, Carl Perkins, Edgar Winter, Bernie Taupin, Greg and Duane Allman, Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Donovan, Arlo Guthrie, Dr. John, Ron Wood, Hoyt Axton, Harry Nilsson, Sonny Bono, Englebert Humperdink and Dolly Parton. This, in addition to shooting publicity and photo packages for two of Ringo Starr's albums – Ringo the 4th and Bad Boy.

Nancy will be interviewed, meet guests, and sell her new book, A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll, (Dalton Watson Fine Books) a photographic essay about her life with Ringo Starr.  The photographs, taken over a decade starting in 1970, are a personal journey through her life at the peak of pop culture history.

In support of Canadian talent, we will feature two concert performances by HELP! A Tribute to The Beatles from Montreal. We will also feature a special return engagement concert by Toronto’s FabFour, who sold out two concerts at the Celebration last year.

Yesterday will be performing live at our famous Saturday night street party, an event that drew 1,000 people last year.

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the release of the 1968 White Album, we will have a special live street performance of the album in its entirety by The Kings of Marigold. In 1997, The White Album was named the 10th greatest album of all time in a Music of the Millennium poll conducted by Britain’s HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM.

In our museum area, we are featuring the Trevor Hosier Collection of Beatles memorabilia from the Youngtown Museum. The Collection includes the black hat worn by John Lennon at the last photo session of The Beatles in August 1969, which can be seen on the cover of the Hey Jude album. It also includes a coat personally owned and worn by John Lennon in late 1963, in addition to Beatles photographs, autographs, letters, guitars, artwork, cutlery, promotional material and articles.

Andrew Croft, the Publisher of Beatlology Magazine, will be offering appraisals of your own Beatles memorabilia, at no charge. Just bring them in!

Mark Rehkopf will be displaying and selling his renowned original Beatles artwork.  Mark is also our poster artist.

Tom Heyfron will be leading our popular karaoke sessions, now extended to both Saturday and Sunday.

Once again, we are closing one of our main streets to traffic so that you can stroll about and visit local retailers and enjoy the Beer Garden.

On the street, we will feature a number of Beatles vendors, as well as two continuous stages of live performances by Tom Heyfron, Chris Clause, Madhuhar Dhas (Madooo) Wildsmith, Go Freddie Go, The Silver Band, Patio Cats, Stan Sturgeon, Colin Halyk and Rubber Soul.

Help support awareness and fundraising by our charity, Habitat for Humanity Canada. 

The Orillia Beatles Celebration … a splendid time is guaranteed for all!