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Belly out, white pants on: “Do the shitwinds blow through the mountains?”
Based on his character from the hit show Trailer Park Boys, Patrick Roach brought Randy’s Cheeseburger Picnic to Jasper.
And Randy Bobandy, fresh from Sunnyvale Trailer Park, was here to entertain – performing at Jasper Brewing Co. with a huge plate of cheeseburgers and a tarp for a backdrop.
Speaking before the show, a 49-year-old Roach talked about the origin of his cheeseburger picnics.
He said: “We used to have cheeseburger picnics in Sunnyvale Trailer Park and one time Sam the Caveman came and ruined it. Sometimes cheeseburger picnics can get frigged up. Hopefully that doesn’t happen here in Jasper.
“You know, a few drinks can make people do crazy things. And now they’ve legalized the marijupoopsie so you have to make sure that everybody just stays the right level.
“You don’t want to get into any shit abyss.”
The first cheeseburger picnic was of course held in Sunnyvale Trailer Park, where Randy spent most of the show’s original seven seasons as assistant trailer park supervisor.
Roach said there was interest to see Randy in the real world.
“We have a cheeseburger picnic atmosphere, have a little bit of a party, a bit of fun, and now we’re taking to tour down to the States, it will be on the cruise as well, and people have been having a good time - so why not?”
Roach said a cheeseburger picnic is a party you can have any time of year.
He said: “Sometimes cheeseburger picnics are a summertime event but it’s winter in Alberta and some people say there’s not as much snow or it hasn’t been so cold, but I’ve seen snow, and more than what we have in the east and I think you should be able to have fun and have a cheeseburger party any time of the year.
“So if you have any winter blues you can shake them off, forget about some of your worries and have a good time.
“We tell some jokes, sing some songs, have some games and some contests, audience participation. We meet a few of our fans – in Alberta we have a lot of fans.
“Even little Jasper, 5,000 people but tourists come and people that live here are fans.”
Roach said he had been to Jasper a few times and even skied on our “wonderful” mountain.
“I wish I had a couple more days here so I could hit the slopes!” he said.
“We have enjoyed Jasper, and Alberta for that matter. We are happy to come - from the East Coast all the way here. There’s no Rocky Mountains out east, just a big ocean.”
Roach previously toured with John Dunsworth, who played trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey in the series, before he passed away in October 2017.
Roach said: “When Mr. Lahey and I used to do our show we went to Jasper Park Lodge and did a show for the staff in the cabin they have out back. What a great time.
“He [Lahey] was involved with our own personal shows.
“We did thousands of shows together and I mean, he’s Shakespearean – a wonderful actor. We all miss him.
“There are some things going out this year in March or April, I won’t ruin the surprise, but there is stuff coming.”
The event was one of a new series of live shows for Jasper in January.
To celebrate the festival’s 30th year there will be free live music and comedy shows every weekend this month.
Marmot Basin’s new Corona Tent will see local musician Peter Cherniawsky perform on Friday [January 18], Girls Club DJ on Saturday [January 19], and DJ Thomas Culture on Sunday [January 20].
Girls Club DJ are also at Evil Dave’s Grill on Friday [January 18] night. The Legion is hosting comedian Wes Barker on Friday night and rock band Odds on Saturday [January 19].
And tonight [Thursday, January 17] the Athabasca Barnburner performs at the D’ed Dog Bar and Grill.
See the full line-up for the After Dark series at www.jasper.travel/january/afterdark.
