It’s always easy being green
TRACEY TONG, METRO OTTAWA
More and more festivals are adopting green initiatives, but for the Ottawa Folk Festival, it’s always been second nature, the festival’s director told Metro recently.
“Environmental awareness has always been a part of that community,” said Dylan Griffith. “These festivals are about sharing and community and love of music, and there is always a sense of awareness in the community. Nobody wants a negative impact.”
This year, the Ottawa Folk Festival continues its bottled water-free initiative, said Griffith.
There will be no plastic water bottles sold or distributed on site, and instead, the festival returns its hydration stations so festivalgoers can refill their water bottles with the city’s clean drinking water.
Read more: It’s always easy being green
A fresh face at Ottawa Folk Festival; New artistic director hails from Yukon
By Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
A music fan who says his tastes cover folk, roots, indie-rock, blues and jazz, the tall, Dylan Griffith was offered the job of artistic director of the Ottawa Folk Festival after a nationwide search that attracted more than a dozen qualified applicants.
Photograph by: Brigitte Bouvier, The Ottawa Citizen
On his first visit to Ottawa this week, Dylan Griffith, the new artistic director and producer of the Ottawa Folk Festival, was taken on a guided tour of the festival’s Britannia Park site.
The picturesque riverside setting was covered in snow, but for Griffith, who has been living in the Yukon for most of the past decade, winter is one thing that makes him feel at home. Everything else about Ottawa is new.
A 38-year-old native of Vancouver who looks a bit like Lyle Lovett, Griffith is moving himself and his cat to Ottawa this month to take over the festival’s top job, a recently created position combining artistic direction and management. He is replacing Chris White, the festival’s longtime artistic director and co-founder, who resigned in the fall to pursue other opportunities.
Read more: A fresh face at Ottawa Folk Festival; New artistic director hails from Yukon
Different strokes for different folks
Ottawa Folk Festival celebrates its 16th year
by Charlotte Bailey, Fulcrum
BLUESFEST MIGHT BE over, but that doesn’t mean that festival season is finished in Ottawa. August will give way to the Ottawa Folk Festival, a weekend of international bands coming together to expose Ottawa to the world of folk music.
“It’s a really unique experience,” said festival director Dylan Griffith. “It’s [a] chance to see some stellar artists in a really intimate environment.”
Although this will be his first year directing the Ottawa Folk Festival, Griffith isn’t new to the scene by any means; he directed the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon for five years.
Read more: Different strokes for different folks
Dylan Griffith – a fresh face at Ottawa Folk Festival
New artistic director hails from Yukon
Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
A 38-year-old native of Vancouver who looks a bit like Lyle Lovett, Griffith is moving himself and his cat to Ottawa this month to take over the festival’s top job, a recently created position combining artistic direction and management. He is replacing Chris White, the festival’s longtime artistic director and co-founder, who resigned in the fall to pursue other opportunities.
“One of the big things is filling the shoes I’ve been left with,” Griffith said in an interview. “Chris did a great job for 16 years and is a hugely respected member of the Ottawa folk community, and here I am coming from the Yukon. I think that’s a challenge, but it’s also a real opportunity. People don’t have the preconceptions about me. I’m starting fresh.”
To read the full article, click here.
