What began as a small music-themed travel group in 2016 has grown to be one of the most-talked about events on the East Coast.
Lorie and Mark Nearing of Memory Bank Travel.
Memory Bank Travel’s Lorie Nearing’s music travel series “Fun in the Sun” started by bringing one band from local Halifax hotspot “The Lower Deck” to the Caribbean to play for a small group of fans in a combination week-long concert and vacation.
“We brought Shaydid down and originally, to have a vacation, but be a paid event for them as well,” Nearing tells us last week. “We all agreed to it and to equally promote it and it was a huge hit.
And then every year it just became bigger and bigger, we kept adding more excursions, or different events to it, we even made custom T shirts a few times, to make it different each year for all the guests.
It’s become a really popular thing throughout the Maritimes.”
On-site logistics are supported by Mark Nearing who has a background in production, along with the host resorts’ event team. Lorie takes care of every single booking detail herself and adds the final touches in destination, like allowing guests to play along with the band, to make sure each trip is memorable.
“Some of these clients are like groupies, who follow these bands around to the local bars,” she explains. “So when they get a chance to take a guitar and sing with them, it's an intimate once-in-a -lifetime experience.
We try to make the performances and events as private as possible because these guests are paying a little bit extra for the bands.”
Past locations have included Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica and have grown to over 200 attendees. Last year’s event had three bands in total perform, their biggest yet. A concert took place on board a two-tiered catamaran, which went out to the sea, anchored, and played for three hours.
It’s a win-win situation for the resorts/destination and guests with a unique experience and increased visitation to the destination.
Lorie begins planning the next year’s event before the current one wraps, which includes a debrief on what worked, what didn’t. She specializes in large group travel and prior to this was used to booking groups of 60 or 70 guests. Launch for 2025 is currently underway.
“It's kind of that ever evolving, changing, but next year’s planning really starts before the current one ends.”
The next one is happening April 6, 2025 at Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana with Shaydid and Home Grown. There’s still availability and those interested can reach out to Lorie at [email protected]
“Groups are my thing. It's a lot of work, but it's something that I know that I'm good at and I can handle, and as much stress as it is, I love every freaking minute of it.”
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