Peterborough Blogs
Peterborough Folk Festival Seeking Volunteers For Children's Village
/The Peterborough Folk Festival is looking for volunteers to help with the Children’s Village taking place from Aug. 19 to 21 at Nicholls Oval.
Photo courtesy of Nicholls Oval.
All volunteers receive a limited-edition volunteer T-shirt, complimentary food and drinks during the event and first access to their year-round programming according to their website.
The Children’s Village operates from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has tasks such as face painting, running craft tables, helping children with their art projects and hauling water for the water wall. High school students seeking volunteer hours can get their hours through this event. Anyone 18 or older requires a police record check for the Children’s Village.
The music and art festival is also accepting volunteers for other positions such as setup and cleaning.
Anyone looking to volunteer can visit the festival’s volunteer website.
The Trews Acoustic is one of the headlining acts for this year’s festival.
Peterborough Folk Festival Makes First Line-up Announcement And Is Looking For Volunteers
/The Peterborough Folk Festival will return for its 33rd edition at Nicholls Oval, Market Hall and various downtown venues over 5 days from August 17 to 21.
The Trews Acoustic will headline Sunday at Nicholls Oval with an acoustic full band set. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Folk Festival.
The festival will kick off on August 17 at Market Hall with a screening of “We Can Do This”, a film created during the festival in 2021.
The first announcement of artists has been announced, with many more acts to be announced closer to the date.
Appearing on various stages are:
Bahamas
Kathleen Edwards
The Trews Acoustic
ODARIO
AHI
Kelly McMichael
My Son The Hurricane
Georgia Harmer
Adria Kain
Joyful Joyful
Michael C Duguay
Lauryn Macfarlane
Kayla Mohammed
Nathan Truax
" I’m proud to see the lineup come together the way it has so far and I have a feeling many attendees will discover they're next favorite artist at the festival this year,” said Artistic Director Ryan Kemp.
The Folk Festival is seeking individuals that are willing to volunteer this year.
"It seems that it is more difficult to recruit volunteers and we are reaching out to the greater community to ensure we are able to host the event in the same manner as the community has grown to appreciate,” said Board Chair Malcolm Byard. "If we are unable to recruit at least another 125 volunteers the Festival may not look like it has pre-pandemic.”
To to become a volunteer, donate, sponsor or become an artisan vendor visit peterboroughfolkfest.com.
Buffy Sainte-Marie To Open Peterborough Folk Festival
/The 2017 Peterborough Folk Festival runs from August 19th to 21st, with nationally recognized artists, great workshops, and terrific food and craft vendors at Nichol's Oval Park in East City.
Organizers have announced that the festival will kick off Friday, August 19th with the awesome Buffy Sainte-Marie performing at Showplace Performance Theatre. Having performed for more than half a century, her latest album Power in the Blood won a Juno for both Aboriginal and Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, as well as the Polaris prize—an annual award for the top album in Canada.
Tickets for her show go on sale Wednesday, May 17th at noon at showplace.org.
The rest of the weekend features free admission, and it has been announced that family-friendly Sharon and Bram who be performing Sunday afternoon at the park.
The complete lineup of artists will be revealed in the coming weeks.
The festival is also accepting submissions for artisan and craft and food vendors, and volunteers and sponsors are also being sought. Go to PeterboroughFolkFest.com for info.
Here's a promo video on the festival...
PtboPics: Peterborough Folk Festival 2011
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[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.
Peterborough Folk Festival News: Submission Deadline & Band Promotion 101 Workshop Coming Up!
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Memories of the 2010 PFF. The deadline for performer submissions to the 2011 Peterborough Folk Festival is February 28th, and submission guidelines can be found on PtboFolkFest.com.
PFF receives more than 1,000 submissions from artists around the world each year, and is known Canada-wide for breaking new acts. Coming off a highly successful 2010 PFF, this year's PFF takes place Friday, August 26 to Sunday, August 28, 2011—so mark it on your calendars!
PFF Artistic Director Candace Shaw, who PtboCanada spotlighted last year in this Q&A, is also hosting a Band Promotion 101 workshop on February 2 at Sadleir House in Peterborough. Designed with the emerging artist in mind, Shaw draws on her many years of experience in the music industry to help up-and-coming artists understand the art of self-promotion. Cost is only $10, and participants must register at PtboFolkFest.com.
[Peterborough Folk Festival; PtboCanada Interview: Candace Shaw, Artistic Director of Peterborough Folk Festival; 2010 Peterborough Folk Festival]
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.
The Peterborough Folk Festival Was a Hit!
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There were lots of shady spots to throw a towel down and listen to Kate LeDeuce After a sold-out show at a special opening night event on Friday night, Peterborough Folk Festival had a fantastic turnout on Saturday during their full day of events.
The 'learning to drum' stage turned into quite a gathering
There were numerous vendors, including a Hula-hooping workshop
And here's The McFlies covering "Sunglasses at Night" at PFF:
For more excellent photos, check out the PFF's Flickr Stream.
[Peterborough Folk Festival Performers 2010; PtboCanada Interview: Candace Shaw, Artistic Director of Peterborough Folk Festival; McFlies - Sunglasses at Night]
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.
Stuff to do in the Patch this weekend
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Looking for something to do in Peterborough this weekend?
Friday
- Peterborough Folk Festival - Royal Wood Concert (7PM - Sold Out) Canadian Canoe Museum
- Canadian Wakeboard Open (Schedule - $29.95 in advance) Beavermead Park
- Wild Rock Outfitters hosts Learn to Paddle (6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - $25/person) Beavermead Park
- Ghost Walk (9 p.m. - $10 a person) - Corner of Hunter and Driscoll Terrace
- Mustang Drive-In (Opens at 8:15 p.m. - Ticket Prices) - what's playing
Saturday
- Peterborough Folk Festival - Festival Day (11 a.m. to 11 p.m. - Free) Nicholls Oval & Rotary Park
- Canadian Wakeboard Open (Schedule - $29.95 in advance) Beavermead Park
- Poet and Songwriter's Matinee ($5, 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m) The Spill
- Davy Jones at Little Lake Musicfest (8 p.m. - Free (Bring a canned good for Kawartha Food Share) - Del Crary Park
- Mustang Drive-In (Opens at 8:15 p.m. - Ticket Prices) - what's playing
Sunday
- Peterborough Folk Festival - Workshops (11 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Free) Sadleir House
- Canadian Wakeboard Open (Schedule - $29.95 in advance) Beavermead Park
- Peterborough Lakers vs Brampton Excelsiors (7 p.m. - Adults $16, Seniors/Students $10.50, Children $3) Memorial Centre
- Mustang Drive-In (Opens at 8:15 p.m. - Ticket Prices) - what's playing
...and, while there's still time, hit the beach. Or... shoot some hoops!
To submit info for "Stuff to do in the Patch this weekend", email evan@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.
PtboCanada Interview: Candace Shaw, Artistic Director of Peterborough Folk Festival
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Candace Shaw spreads the word about PFF. Photo by Evan HoltCandace Shaw is the Artistic Director and Executive Director of the Peterborough Folk Festival (PFF), a three-day music and arts festival which kicks off this coming Friday (August 27th) with a special gala concert at the Canadian Canoe Museum. The main festival day is Saturday and features events happening throughout the day at Rotary Park and Nicholls Oval. Sunday, things wind down with a few hours of music workshops happening at Trent University's Sadleir House.
Over the years, Shaw has been involved in various aspects of the Peterborough Folk Festival, including her first exposure as a parking attendant in the late 1990s. During the intervening years, her tasks have changed, and her involvement has increased to the point of being the driving force for a day of music which is known far and wide as one of the best free music festivals our country has to offer.
PtboCanada contributor Jeffrey Macklin found out more about Candace Shaw and the festival in this interview:
Macklin: Can you tell me a little bit about the history of the Peterborough Folk Festival?
Shaw: Well, to be honest, there is not a lot known about the early days of the festival. Some of the history of the festival was washed away in the flood of 2004, when our offices were ruined. Originally the festival happened on a Sunday. That was because the organizers of the day were aligning with the Festival of Lights [now known as the Little Lake Musicfest]. Having the festival on a Sunday meant there was no competition for audience and the stage at Del Crary Park was available.
At the time (1989), it was a one day festival and starred folk singer Ian Tamblyn, who had been a student at Trent University and maintained a Peterborough connection as one of the original Festival organizers. How and why the festival moved to Rotary Park is unknown to me. There are lots of rumours and a lack of credible evidence of what went down during that time.
In the early aughts, it changed into a three-day festival and featured a club crawl. Also, Federal Heritage funding came into play which meant we were mandated to look outside of the local area for some of the talent we booked. Up until that time, the music was all local.
The Peterborough Folk Festival is a festival contantly in flux. Since it's beginnings, the event has seemingly always been changing.
Macklin: How does the PFF use Social Media? And has it had an impact on how you get your message out?
Shaw: We've got a great Facebook fan page that was just started a couple months ago. We have done little to spread the word. We are using Twitter and you can follow us @ThePFF. There is a great community on Twitter, who have helped us by spreading the word on anything we post. A great example is the Royal Wood concert. Tickets have been selling really well, all without any conventional paid advertising. Social media is to blame.
Macklin: Tell us about the musical lineup you've booked for this year's main stage.
Shaw: Well, we get about 1,000 submissions from musicians each year. As well, I hear things on my own. I do my best to get a nice balance when choosing artists. I work to have a gender balance and cultural diversity. The idea is to not have just a bunch a white guys with guitars singing about ships sinking. I try to pick good musicians—musicians who support an inclusive community, who are of a high quality and musically accessible. We steer clear of anything too avant guard like Peaches. Even though Peaches is one of my personal favorites, she may not be suitable for a diverse community audience.
I like to choose some of my favourite bands who will draw people in; sounds that are happening in Canada today, but maybe people need to find out more about. I like to choose music which might reach out to parts of the community who don't necessarily go out to bars and see bands.
Macklin: Give me some of your best memories from the past years of the PFF.
Shaw: A favorite memory would be from 2007. The first time I got to sit down all day that year was for Old Man Luedecke's set. As he was playing, all these little kids were dancing and circling around by the stage, singing "we love this", over and over again. That was gratifying.
Also in 2007, during and after Shad K's set, people were coming up to me thanking me for booking a rapper. Folks were expressing the fact that they didn't realize they could like hip hop music. That's the beauty of the festival: booking music people might not have otherwise encountered. It's a low risk environment for exposing people to new things.
Macklin: OK, what's your worst memory from past years?
Shaw: That would have to be a moment when setting up for last year's festival. The rain was pouring down as we were outside getting ready at 7 a.m. I had to decide to go forward or not. I decided to pull the trigger, making the decision to just go for it. That half hour of indecision was the hardest. Once we finally made the decision to go ahead, everything worked out.
Macklin: How about volunteers? Do you have enough?
Shaw: We are still calling for volunteers. Usually we have just under 100, with a core of 12 to 15 who have worked on the festival for years. Some work year round, planning and organizing certain aspects of the festival.
Macklin: The weekend kicks-off with a gala concert on Friday night starring piano/popster Royal Wood. Tell us about the venue.
Shaw: Last year, we had Ian Tamblyn play right in the gallery space of the Canoe Museum. It worked out really really nicely. People were sitting throughout the collection of canoes. This year's show features Royal Wood and the show will be in the Education room, which is a better place for a group of people to watch a show.
Macklin: Why should people come out to the Peterborough Folk Festival?
Shaw: People should come out because it is one of the sweetest, nicest community events we have going in Peterborough. It's free and you can see beautiful artwork, eat great local food, relax and meet neighbours and reconnect after a long hot summer. The Peterborough Folk Festival is one last summer weekend to recharge your spirit before we fall into the autumn routine of school and work.
For a complete list of performers and vendors and more info on PFF, click here.
[Peterborough Folk Festival; Peterborough Folk Festival YouTube channel; Peterborough Folk Festival on Facebook; Peterborough Folk Festival on Twitter]
Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.
