Folk festival goes on despite setbacks

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This article was published 27/07/2019 (2442 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This won’t be the day the music died.

Despite some setbacks, the 35th Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival takes place today at Princess Park.

The free one-day event runs from 11 a.m. until dark, according to the festival’s Facebook page.

This year’s lineup includes The Young Pixels, The Pomelo Band, Caitlin Baker, Bruce Dunlop, Marshall Birch Band, Bill Bage, Mimi Vouk, Rhianna Rae Saj, The Rainy Day Apparel and Kate Ferris.

There is also Under the Canvas Craft and Art Market, a family area with arts and crafts activities, art displays and food Vendors.

Festival organizers have run into a number of challenges preparing for this year’s event, the Sun reported earlier this week.

“Port-o-potties require cash upfront, and there’s very little of that this year,” organizer Shandra MacNeill shared in a Facebook post Monday afternoon in the Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival group. “We need to raise $1,600 for our port-o-potties, so while we scurry around trying to make this happen, we’re asking you to sponsor personally one of our lovely five port-o-potties that enable the whole thing to happen!”

Organizers also dealt with a provincial funding issue earlier this month that delayed securing the performing lineup at the festival.

Calls the Sun made to MacNeill Monday and Tuesday for comment were not returned.

When reached Friday, MacNeill hung up the phone after this reporter identified himself, asking to talk to her about the festival.

The longtime festival has hit some sour notes of late.

In 2018, the festival moved from its usual venue at the Keystone Centre to Princess Park and was only on for the one day.

Last August, an online campaign was launched on Facebook to boycott the festival, a day after the group’s annual general meeting, the Sun reported.

“Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival’s current ‘board’ has once again turned its back on volunteers, lifetime members, and the arts community in Brandon,” stated the post on the Boycott page. “It is no longer the vibrant community organization it once was, having done away with arts and charity events throughout the year, and turning away dozens of dedicated volunteers, organizers and past members.”

The person who launched the page did not return The Brandon Sun’s request for an interview at the time.

Murray Evans, the founding artistic director of the Brandon Folk Festival from 1985 to 1997, said Friday the festival has varied from two to three days over the years, bringing in such notable acts as Buffy St. Marie and English singer-songwriter Richard Thompson.

Thompson, who performed at the festival in 2017, was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Top 20 guitarists of all time.

“When I did it, it was some national acts that happened to be touring through, but we were very cognizant of the amount of money we had to spend, which was not a lot,” he said.

Back then, there was no politics involved, said Evans, who now runs Poor Michael’s Emporium in Onanole.

“I think it’s kind of turned that way, especially with the current board, or lack of board,” he said.

Looking at the festival now, “It’s disappointing and disheartening.”

But he said, “Like any non-profit organization, it goes through waves and bubbles. It bursts and then it regroups, and I guess maybe we’re waiting for the burst, I don’t know.”

» brobertson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @BudRobertson4