Festival partnership means more for Ottawa music fans
Photo courtesy of Kevin Rutkay, used under Creative Commons license
Ottawa Folk Festival (OFF) organizers today announced a plan to propel the 17-year-old music festival into the future. After long deliberations and discussions with several organizations over the past several weeks, the OFF has gratefully accepted a generous loan from Ottawa Bluesfest organizers. This will allow the OFF to pay existing creditors and keep the festival on track for August 2011, and for the foreseeable future.
“For 17 years the Ottawa Folk Festival has delivered a festival that is much-loved in the region, but which has struggled to achieve financial success,” says OFF spokesperson, Bob Ledrew. “This arrangement puts us in a position—thanks to this loan—in which we can be bold in our approach to programming and to staging the event while we move forward. It gives us the ability to do things an organization can do when it’s in good financial shape rather than tenuous shape.”
The OFF explored several options, meeting with representatives of the folk community, with the government agencies that provide funding, and with several sponsors to explore ways of putting the organization on a stronger financial footing for the future. Ledrew says none of these options came close to providing the support that this arrangement has to offer.
“We are also restructuring the OFF’s Board. Several new directors, who bring years of expertise from Bluesfest and other organizations, have been invited onto the Board. Their contacts and knowledge of how to run a crowd-pleasing, successful festival will be invaluable,” adds Ledrew.
“In addition, many others within our extended community of volunteers and organizational partners will work to ensure the festival stays true to its ideals and the longstanding tradition of Canadian community-based folk festivals. We are confident that the unique elements of the Ottawa Folk Festival will remain substantially unchanged.
“We don’t expect to see major changes to the nature of the Ottawa Folk Festival itself. The principles and values that define our festival—and the unique Canadian folk festival traditions of community, family-friendliness, active participation, and social and environmental consciousness—will very much be preserved.
“Staff and Board are now focused on working toward a 2011 music festival that will not only retain the tried-and-true formula for this well-loved Ottawa festival, but will also be an artistic and financial success,” concludes Mr. Ledrew.
Ottawa Tonite will be LIVE@Ottawa Folk Festival!
Ottawa Tonite
Finally, after weeks and months of waiting, local concertgoers will finally be able to truly understand what those vibrant “I GET OFF” posters actually mean.
“OFF” — better known as the Ottawa Folk Festival — touches down at Britannia Park this weekend and Ottawa Tonite will be on the ground, bringing you live-streaming coverage of the three-day festival, from Friday, August 13th to Sunday, August 15th.
Bob LeDrew and Emma Godmere met up at the festival site earlier this week to share the excitement:
Read more: Ottawa Tonite will be LIVE@Ottawa Folk Festival!
Griffith wants to turn you on to OFF
Guerilla, by Innika La Fontaine
The Ottawa Folk Festival (OFF) has been a much-loved long weekend of rhythm on the river. But after 16 years of sticking to a comfortable, traditional format the festival had become just a little too aged—and most of the audience had aged right along with it.
Read more: Griffith wants to turn you on to OFF
Ottawa Folk Festival Announces 2010 Line-Up, Early Bird Passes Now On Sale
OTTAWA – Just two weeks remain to purchase early bird passes to what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting events in Ottawa’s busy summer festival season. Last week, the Ottawa Folk Festival unveiled this year’s initial line-up, announcing an eclectic and dynamic mix of acts that stretch and redefine the term “folk music”.
“Folk music means different thing to different people, and I think it’s part of our job to explore the parameters and push the boundaries of what’s presented within the context of folk music” says Festival Director Dylan Griffith. “I’m interested in the connections between traditions and generations, and often these are found in very unexpected places.”
One unexpected act at the festival this year will no doubt be Arrested Development, the Atlanta-based hip-hop collective that rose to prominence in the early ‘90s and has been enjoying a critical and popular resurgence of late. Fusing together elements of hip hop, gospel, jazz, blues and soul, their music offers a deep human connection through sonic celebration, while the political and social themes explored in their lyrics will resonate with a broad spectrum of festival goers.
A more traditional but no less exciting choice for the OFF is folk legend Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, who will be making his long-overdue first appearance at the festival this year. A friend of Woody Guthrie, an inspiration to Bob Dylan and a five-time Grammy winner honoured just last year for Best Traditional Blues Album of the year, Ramblin’ Jack is a true pioneer who has managed to stay relevant to successive generations over the course of his over 40+ year career.
Acclaimed American roots-rockers Calexico are set to add to the ever-growing legion of fans of their compelling hybrid of South-western musical styles and influences, a sonic jamboree that fuses elements of folk, jazz, Tejano, mariachi, Morricone, surf-rock and
country to create a truly unique sound distinguished by equal parts cinematic grandeur and stunning quiet beauty. A dynamic group not to be missed.
Closing out the festival this year will be a home-grown legend in the making – founding member of iconic Canadian alt-country group Blue Rodeo and celebrated solo artist Jim Cuddy. Having appeared at the festival in 2005, Cuddy’s reputation as one of the country’s finest song-writers and most compelling live performers has only grown in the intervening years, making his return to Britannia Park a much anticipated highlight of this year’s event.
The 17th edition of the OFF will also feature a stellar contingent of Ottawa artists, including indie-folk outfit The Acorn, hometown favourite Jim Bryson backed by Winnipeg’s The Weakerthans, and festival favourite The Mighty Popo.
International highlights at this year’s festival include the award-winning traditional Scottish folk act LAU, British punk-folk troubadour Frank Turner, Welsh guitar virtuoso Gareth Pearson and the superbly original Namgar, whose unique fusion of traditional Buryat folk music with ‘70s rock elements has led to their being dubbed “the Mongolian Jethro Tull.”
Other boundary-pushing artists sure to electrify audiences this year include other-worldly Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq, taboo-busting queer folk-pop collective The Hidden Cameras and global fusion ensemble Delhi 2 Dublin.
More traditional folk festival fare will include Toronto bluegrass outfit The Foggy Hogtown Boys, politically minded singer-songwriter Jon Brooks, and Yukon “sweet dark” old time country crooner Kim Beggs.
The 17th annual Ottawa Folk Festival will take place from August 13 – 15 in Britannia Park. A three-day celebration of music, dance, visual arts and community, the OFF will feature an eclectic mix of musical performances on two evening and five daytime stages, plus participatory music workshops, wellness activities, beer gardens, artisan and craft vendors, special children’s and family performances and much, much more.
Early bird passes are available until May 31st at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, Ten Thousand Villages in Westboro, all three CD Warehouse locations, on-line at ticketbreak.com or by phone at 1-866-9-GET-TIX. Adult weekend passes are $69; youth (16-15) and seniors $39. 15 and younger get in free.
Full line-up, ticket and other information available at ottawafolk.org.
2010 Ottawa Folk Festival Line-Up:
The Acorn
Aidan Knight
Arrested Development
Bahamas
Bruce Peninsula
Calexico
Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends
Chris MacLean
Coco Love Alcorn
Delhi 2 Dublin
The Foggy Hogtown Boys
Frank Turner
Gareth Pearson
The Hidden Cameras
Horse Feathers
Hoots & Hellmouth
Jill Zmud
Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans Band
The Jim Cuddy Band
Jon Brooks
Kim Beggs
Ladies of the Canyon
LAU
The Mighty Popo
Namgar
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
Rock Plaza Central
Tanya Tagaq
Further artists to be announced soon!
Changing of the Guard at Ottawa FolkFest Targets New Ears
Ottawa Tonight – By Roch Parisien
For several years now, Ottawa’s venerable folk festival from the shores of Britannia Park has been scrambling for a consistent vision and direction. Based on this past week’s launch event announcing the preliminary lineup for 2010, recently appointed Festival Director Dylan Griffith intends to stabilize the ground on two fronts — keep the festival focus squarely on the music, and work hard to broaden it’s appeal and attract new ears.
Red more: Changing of the Guard at Ottawa FolkFest Targets New Ears
Ottawa Folk Festival – Ottawa Tonight
New direction for Ottawa Folk Festival
TRACEY TONG, METRO OTTAWA
Arrested Development, Calexico, and the Jim Cuddy Band are just a few of the acts headlining at the 17th annual Ottawa Folk Festival this summer.
To be held at Britannia Park from Aug. 13-15, the festival has gone in a new direction with groups like Arrested Development, festival director Dylan Griffith said yesterday.
Read more: New direction for Ottawa Folk Festival
Shaking up the folk festival
Lineup runs from hip hop to traditional
By Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: Shaking up the folk festival
Changes to Staff at the Ottawa Folk Festival: Chris White has resigned from the Ottawa Folk Festival, Ana Miura joins the OFF as interim Director of Planning and Operations
Longtime artistic director and Festival co-founder Chris White has resigned from the Ottawa Folk Festival (OFF). Members of the Board of the OFF have expressed their appreciation for his artistic vision and many contributions that have earned the Festival both critical and audience acclaim over the past 16 years. Chris is leaving us with a festival that is artistically credible, recognized, respected and established. We know that members of the broader community also join us in thanking Chris and wishing him future success.
The Festival was both an artistic and financial success this year, having come through a challenging financial year with a surplus for the first time since 2003 and reducing the major deficit sustained in the previous year. Therefore, the Board also welcomes the opportunity to attract new leaders to the organization that will help the OFF to grow and continue to attract new audiences.
The Board is very pleased to announce that Ana Miura will be joining the OFF in early November as interim Director of Planning and Operations. She succeeds Tatiana Nemchin, who has been working with the Board since early summer to ensure a smooth transition of her duties. This year’s financial success was thanks in no small measure to Ms. Nemchin, whose event management and business savvy as well as her focus on increasing sponsorships and community partnerships made a great difference and will provide strong platforms for Ana and other future staff to build upon.
Ana Miura is well-known on the local and national musical scene as a singer-songwriter, and concert and tour organizer. Over the past year, she also brought her formidable organizational skills to the Festival, coordinating successful garden-themed activities and performances; serving as a main-stage emcee; and, at the invitation of Bruce Cockburn, joining him and two other headliners to perform a 90-minute daytime concert at the Festival.
Board President Lynn Haggarty said, “Our improved financial footing will help us attract other talented new leaders like Ana.” As part of the regular strategic review process, the Board of the OFF has been reviewing organizational capacity and staffing requirements, and will be conducting recruitment activities this fall. In addition, there have been several offers from within the local and national folk music community to assist during this period of transition.
Ottawa Gets Folked
David McClelland | apartment613
When it comes to music festivals, those that focus on folk music often don’t get as much regard as more mainstream events, considered the domain of aging hippies and twanging bluegrass. And while the 16th annual Ottawa Folk Festival played host to plenty of both, there was lots more on offer, featuring a wide variety of musical performers and some big-name Canadians as headlining acts.
Taking place in the west end’s Britannia Park on August 21-23, the Folk Festival was probably one of Ottawa’s best musical events this summer. Headlined by former Barenaked Lady Steven Page, Canadian folk-legend Bruce Cockburn and Halifax-based rocker Joel Plaskett, and featuring a wealth of lesser-known performers the festival seemed to have something for everyone.
Read the full review @ apt613.ca: Ottawa Gets Folked
