Abbamania will be performing the iconic songs of ABBA to mark the last of Aurora’s 2024 Concert in the Park series on Wednesday night.
This is the fourth year the group is performing in Aurora, according to Garry Lichach, the group’s producer. The group performs around 200 shows a year globally, everywhere from Malaysia to the Cayman Islands to North Bay, but said Aurora is "the highlight of the summer," for the group.
“We love Aurora, every time we play there with Abbamania we love it,” said Lichach. “Production is great and the people are great, it’s the highlight of the summer for us. Come to Aurora and it’s fun.”
The group is coming off performing for 15,000 people at the Nostalgia Festival in Ottawa, and is performing for an expected crowd of 10,000 people at Casa Loma in Toronto on Monday.
But Lichach said there is something about the crowd in Town Park in Aurora.
“It’s a neat outdoor, little event. Sometimes going out to dinner with eight friends, it can be a little bit over the edge. If you go out with another couple, it’s a little more intimate, more one-on-one kind of thing,” he said.
The group's producer estimates there will be 2,000 people at Town Park on Wednesday.
“That’s a great crowd and they’re into it. They love it and we love performing for them,” said Lichach. “So it doesn't matter how big a place you play, it’s the venue and the people in front of you that’s making it happen."
"Every time we’re in Aurora, it’s the same thing: “Geez, that was a good show,” laughed Lichach.
The Abbamania performance will be the last of the nine free concerts held this summer in Town Park, part of the town's long-running Concert in the Park Series.
"It's sad to see it coming to an end, it always is every year, but what a show to end with," said Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas. "I know the park is just going to be overwhelmed with residents and visitors coming to enjoy, not just a great concert, but also our historic Town Park."
"One of the greatest things about the series — it's been going on for so long — it's a great way for people to get out and talk with their fellow Aurorans, and meet new Aurorans, and just enjoy a great evening in the park."
Getting a new crowd to come out to the concerts was one of the big successes this year, according to Shelley Ware, recreation supervisor with the Town of Aurora, who said local band The Beresfords' Taylor Swift tribute brought out a younger audience.
"I think we had hundreds and hundreds of teenagers out to see that performance, which is not typically what we see on regular Wednesday nights," she said. "For the most part, many of those teenagers had never been to a Wednesday night concert, so it was a new experience."
Ware added the series has been broadly well received, with good weather for the majority of the shows.
Abbamania, a tribute to Abba, will be performing in Aurora Town Park at 49 Wells St. Aug. 28 from 7 to 9 p.m.
The concerts are free but attendees are encouraged to bring a food donation for the Aurora Food Pantry.
