Taylor Swift kicks off P.E.I. celebrity parade

Taylor Swift took to the stage in P.E.I. on Saturday night in front of 30,000 soggy fans at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival, while a celebrity U.S. talk-show duo prepared to launch their weeklong excursion to the Island. 

Swift's set, along with country singer Keith Urban's performance Friday night, highlighted the five-day festival.

It ends Sunday night with a performance from Lady Antebellum, but it's just the start of what promises to be a star-filled week on the Island.

Preparations were underway on the weekend for the arrival of talk-show hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, who will be broadcasting from P.E.I. this week starting Monday.

On Sunday, Ripa posted a photograph of her and her family dining in P.E.I. on her Twitter page.

The American duo's production crew is in the province setting up the stage at Confederation Landing Park.  

Michael Gelman, the producer of the ABC network show, who is known for his regular on-air appearances, took media on a tour of the area Saturday.  

He said Philbin and Ripa will broadcast from a gazebo that crew are in the process of building.  

The 3,000 people with tickets to the broadcasts will have a seat and a good view of the stage, he promised, adding that up to 7,000 more people can stand at the back.  

"We've got a huge video wall that's going to be to the other side of the stage, and that's going to let everyone see the close up and the detail," Gelman said.

'Building up our brand'  

Gelman also met with Robert Ghiz, the Liberal premier of P.E.I.  

"Well, you know, we wanted to experience something very different than any other remote we've had, and we've found something very different," Gelman said.  

"Prince Edward Island, whether we like it or not, is not that well-known," Ghiz said. "This is about us building up our brand awareness."  

The brand-awareness build-up cost about $800,000, which is what the government paid to bring Live with Regis and Kelly to Charlottetown.  

The talk show will do two live shows and two taped shows, including segments shot on different parts of the island.  

P.E.I. band Grass Mountain Hobos will play live on the show Tuesday morning.  

Gelman said a producer had come across their music and liked what he heard.  

"We listened to their music, we liked them, we called them. Initially, I guess they had some other scheduling conflict. Somehow they were able to work it out and they're going to be here," Gelman said.  

He would not provide specifics about the hosts' plans for the week.  

"They're both going to be eating some good lobster, I know that," he said.  

"They're going to be out and about everywhere this weekend. This weekend, Regis will experience some things he never has."