Salamander event fills gap left by folk fest

Rideau Park was alive with the sounds of music and packed with fans for the weekend’s Salamander Summer Festival – the city’s third annual with 21 musicians and bands booked.

But it was the first for Roger Desilets and his wife Cathy, who were in the crowd Saturday afternoon with their two friends, Bruce and Dianna Shavers.

“Brandon needs more of this,” Roger said, “We all bought a day pass to support local talent. Plus, we all get to hang out today and have more fun tonight.”

Three friends who have known each other for years through their involvement in local theatre shared some laughs under the sunshine in between performances by musicians Daelyn Elise and Zach Riley.

“There’s a variety of music,” said Christine Penner. “You pay for one concert, but you get multiple just in one day, and you’re supporting local artists.”

As Nikki Germain looked around at the other people on blankets and chairs she said, “I like the feel of it here. If you go to Europe there are plazas and everyone just meets there. Brandon needs community things like this.”

Marilyn Hardy was crocheting a salamander while they chatted. She has volunteered with the festival in the past, but said this year she decided it was her turn to enjoy the experience.

“The last two years I’ve done security,” Hardy said, “This year I’m kind of taking a break from it, but I always make puppets that they auction off at the end of the show on Sunday evening. Last year we made about $300 on them,” she said as he held up the colourful salamander puppet.

From Friday to Sunday, the musicians representing different genres — folk, psychedelic and classic rock, funky jazz and alternative — took to the stage, while fans were free to roam the park grounds and indulge in the vendor’s village, various local food trucks and an alcohol beverage.

Booking local talent was one of the priorities for the music festival, said organizer Jennifer Watson.

“Our artistic director team said once they opened up submissions from artists, they heard from every province in Canada and from the States,” Watson said as she spoke with the Sun in the vendor’s village.

“But it’s a conscious decision to keep it very Manitoba-centric. We do have a couple of bands from outside Manitoba, but still prairie – Saskatchewan – and still very local-focused.

“Because you can go to some of the bigger festivals and see a big-name act, but those acts don’t get their start if there aren’t festivals like ours for them to play,” she said.

The easy-going atmosphere that comes from the music with the setting under the water tower at Rideau Park was also in the back of everyone’s mind from day one of planning, Watson added.

“It is the most chill weekend; it’s just a true hippy dippy music festival experience.”

There was a dedicated kids area aptly named the L’il Salamander kids zone. Organizers teamed up with the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba and the Western Manitoba Regional Library, which provided materials and activities.

Set up nearby were Diana Davidson with her kids, and friend Shauna Thompson with hers.

“This is the only place that I don’t have to be nervous about my kids escaping,” Thompson said, adding, “they are free to run around and they’re safe.”

Davidson said she remembers when the now defunct Brandon Folk Festival was held on the Keystone Centre grounds and is happy that the organizers have created a new event.

“We’ve always been festival goers,” Davidson said. Nodding to her young son she added, “this little one and my older two have been dancing under the festival stage since they were babies.

“Once the sun goes down, the glow sticks come out. It’s hard to get them to come home,” she said.

“So yes, an absolutely safe place for kids. With the music, the open air and the friends, it’s magical.”

The Salamander festival’s planning committees used Brandon’s previous festival as a rough template, with several former organizers from that decades-spanning event lending a hand.

But they needed a unique identity, eventually finding their mascot in the flaming salamander located on the top of Brandon’s city crest, Watson said.

This amphibian was chosen because of its association with rebirth and its imperviousness to fire and represents the phoenix rising from the ashes.

“We realized when the Brandon Folk Festival stopped happening, that there was a gap for a local live music festival in Brandon,” Watson said.

“So, we decided that we could do it, and I think we’ve built over the last three years something to really be proud of, that is become something really special,” she said.

“Our plan is slow, incremental growth. We have a couple more bands, a couple more vendors and a few more people.”

The line-up for the third annual Salamander Summer Music Festival included performers Route 10 Collective, the Silas Presley Band, BatBotS, The Haileys, Crossfyre, Chris Froome, and Prince Eddy and the Wrecking Balls.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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