News Archive June 2009

From: ThePeterboroughExaminer.com
by Andrea Houston
Posted: June 26, 2009

Mayor Paul Ayotte is shouting out loud that he supports Peterborough's bid for the KISS concert.

"I think this concert will bring a lot of people to the city," Ayotte said outside city hall yesterday. "I'm sure there are KISS fans from all over the region who will travel to Peterborough for the concert."

Superfan Darryl Andrews, 38, who has been a loyal KISS fan since he was seven, printed off "bring KISS to Peterborough" cards to collect people's email addresses.

"If they don't want to vote online I'll do it for them," said Andrews, who was dressed in a full Paul Stanley costume, complete with a black star painted over his right eye.

"You don't have to be a KISS fan to bring them to Peterborough."

The online petition can be found on KISS's website. The deadline for the contest is Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Peterborough currently sits in sixth position, right behind Calgary.

Oshawa, Winnipeg and Sault Ste Marie hold the top three spots.

There's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition with Oshawa, Ayotte said.

"I think we always compete with Oshawa," he said. "So it would be nice to beat them to the KISS concert."

If Peterborough is selected as one of the winning cities, KISS will bring their make-up and arena rock show spectacular for a one-night-only concert at some point in the fall.

Although Ayotte isn�t a KISS fan, he said if the concert came to the city he would most likely attend.

The mayor prefers country music, he said.

�I might just take in the concert to see what KISS is all about,� he said with a laugh.

The vote is being done on a per-capita basis, so one vote from Peterborough is worth hundreds from a larger city, Andrews said.

�We�re beating Toronto, we�re beating New York. We have a real good chance,� he said.

Andrews said the tour is set to begin in September. Buckcherry will be the opening act, he said.