Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
The venue may have changed, but the 2012 Métisfest promises to be just as big as it has ever been.
“It’s not a place that makes Métisfest, it’s the people,” event organizer Dan Goodon said.
The three-day, multistage festival, that includes workshops on traditional Métis heritage, music, displays, food, vendors and performers, has shifted locales from the International Peace Garden to the Shamrock Centre in Killarney from July 27-29.
The move was made to accommodate visitors who had said the venue was just too expansive at the Peace Garden.
The new location will allow the festival to centralize many of the attractions, something that was important to Goodon.
“It was great having it at the Peace Gardens, but it was just too spread out,” Goodon said. “It was both a happy and sad occasion to leave, but now we’re in one big multiplex and we’ll see what happens.”
Since its inception in 2009, when it drew 7,000 visits, Métisfest has grown to more than 10,000 visitors and Goodon is confident this year will only be bigger.
“The 49th parallel might divide two countries, but it doesn’t divide the Métis people and we’re going to see just how many people we can get in the multiplex in Killarney,” Goodon said.
With a lineup of 40 performers, including world-class artists like Donny Parenteau, Darren Lavalle and Ryan Keplin, Métisfest is set for three days of non-stop action.
“There’s a lot of fiddling, there’s a lot of jigging and there’s a lot of friendship that happens in three solid days,” Goodon said.
“We attract people from California to Maine, from Nova Scotia to Victoria Island and everywhere in between.”
Another major draw will be the Sagkeeng Elders of the Past, who also feature Sagkeeng’s Finest, the recent winners of “Canada’s Got Talent.”
“I’m kind of glad I got them booked four months ago,” Goodon said with a laugh, realizing the group is in high demand around the world right now.
The deep lineup of talent will only help to highlight and promote the Métis culture further, a culture that has certainly seen its share of adversity in the past.
“This festival promotes and preserves the Métis culture in North America,” Goodon said.
“There were so many things that happened in the past that caused Métis people to divide and now this is a coming back and you see that pride in their eyes. There is so much joy in their hearts.”
For Goodon, the excitement of the festival is building as each passing day brings it that much closer.
“This is where some people get to fulfil who they are. When you see them leave and they have tears in their eyes — tears of joy — because for many years they didn’t know who they were,” Goodon said.
“We want people to come as a friend and leave as family and I really get sad on Sunday and Monday when we are cleaning up because there is just so many great people there and it’s sad to have to see them go,” Goodon said.
» ctweed@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition July 10, 2012
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The venue may have changed, but the 2012 Métisfest promises to be just as big as it has ever been.
“It’s not a place that makes Métisfest, it’s the people,” event organizer Dan Goodon said.
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The venue may have changed, but the 2012 Métisfest promises to be just as big as it has ever been.
“It’s not a place that makes Métisfest, it’s the people,” event organizer Dan Goodon said.
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