By Jenn Watt

A series of lake concerts accessed from the safety of one’s personal watercraft comes to Haliburton as a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Pontunes” which started on Lake Kashagawigamog on July 4 is a collaboration between musicians Kelly Prescott and Chad Murphy supported by Anderson Marketing.

“Due to COVID-19 Kelly’s tour dates with Alan Doyle were postponed until 2021” explained Erin Anderson. “Kelly and Chad decided to move out of Toronto until they can get back to their tours. The move to Haliburton idea came up over some wine and delicious food and the idea for Pontunes followed very shortly after that. Kelly’s family used to do something similar in her hometown and it immediately clicked as an awesome way to keep playing live music and support the community.”

Tickets to the concerts are sold online at pontunes.ca for $15 and include information about the specific location of the event. A portion of the proceeds go to Abbey Gardens.

For now the shows can only be viewed from the water meaning you need something that floats – a canoe kayak boat etc. If COVID-19 guidelines change later in the summer Anderson said there may be a land-based show.

Anderson said the concept has been going well and that they anticipate continuing post-COVID-19.

“Pontunes was definitely born as a result of the pandemic but I have no doubt that it will continue long after the pandemic” she said.

The next Pontunes shows are scheduled for Friday July 17 at 7:30 p.m. on Head Lake and Thursday July 30 at 7:30 p.m. on Soyers Lake. Video of the last Pontunes event along with ticket information can be found at pontunes.ca .