Volcanic Ash Cloud Mars Juno Awards Exit

Posted on Apr 19th 2010 10:15AM by Joshua Ostroff

Juno Awards weekend began with a dense fog which prevented planeloads of musicians from landing on Friday, and ended with a volcanic ash cloud descending on the city of St John's, Newfoundland -- sparking a mad dash to the airport Sunday night to beat the Icelandic plumes that have kept European airspace empty for days.

"I spoke to a pilot just now who told me that the ash cloud would be coming here by 3AM and it could be another three days before anyone can get out of here," warned big winner Michael Buble Sunday night, becoming the bearer of bad news to the attending media.

"I don't want to be the guy who brings everyone down. It wouldn't be that bad to have to stay here for another three days, but for her it would," he said, referring to his fiancée Luisana Lopilato, who needed to get back to Argentina to host her TV show.

The ash cloud had already prevented Bryan Adams from accepting the Allen Waters Humanitarian Juno award for his decades of charitable activities, though he did accept via recorded message. "None of the planes are leaving here because of the volcano ash," he apologized.

As soon as the awards wrapped up, the musicians made a beeline for the airport -- meaning that the record label after-parties were a little low on star power. Barenaked Ladies, for instance, were waiting in an airport line instead of playing the EMI party.

They were reportedly joined by Metric, Justin Bieber and other Juno nominees in a line that stretched more than a hundred people long.

For those who didn't make it out, St John's could be their new home for awhile -- Europe remains a no-fly zone for a fifth straight day since Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted last week.

Adding insult to injury, the fog that blanketed the island on Friday returned Monday morning and likely would have kept planes grounded even without the volcanic ash.

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2010 Juno Awards: Red Carpet

Members of the group Metric arrive at the Juno Awards Sunday, April 18, 2010 in St. John's Nfld.

CP/Mike Dembeck

Christian Charisius, Reuters