Press Release

June 4, 2008 - For Immediate Release

Ottawa Folk Festival Celebrates 15 Years of
Music, Art, Culture and Solidarity

"Party for the People" to Feature Sarah Harmer, Rufus Wainwright,
Odetta, Jerry Douglas, Broken Social Scene and many more

 

The Ottawa Folk Festival will celebrate 15 glorious years this August with "something old, something new, something borrowed... and nothing blue," according to founding Artistic Director, Chris White. "We'll be honouring musical traditions and looking back at our own history," says White, "and also looking to the future with lots of programming for younger audiences and families.  We're introducing some exciting new features like a huge dance tent and build-your-own-ukulele workshops, with the help of experts we've borrowed from far and wide.  With so many talented performers and fun ways to get involved, the only thing blue will be the sky over Britannia Park!"

First held in 1994, the Ottawa Folk Festival has grown to be one of Canada's finest music events, garnering a nomination for Best Folk Festival at the prestigious North American Folk Alliance Awards in Memphis earlier this year. "The Ottawa Folk Festival is a one-of-a-kind magical environment and a vibrant community," says Tamara Kater, the festival's dynamic Executive Director.  "We’re ready to celebrate 15 years of tradition and innovation while keeping our focus on a very bright future. It’s going to be a memorable party!"

The festival will showcase more than 60 musical acts, along with dancers, poets, visual artists and artisans.  Indie-rock collectivists Broken Social Scene, Nashville dobro star Jerry Douglas, superstar crooner Rufus Wainwright, and 60's cult hero Country Joe McDonald are among the many superb artists being featured at this year's the event. Sarah Harmer's first Ottawa Folk Festival appearance occurred just before her meteoric rise to stardom.  Also making a return visit is Odetta, the American folk legend whose heroic, flashlight-illuminated performance on the Main Stage during a 2001 power outage made a permanent impression on thousands of awe-struck listeners.  Best-in-class guitarists on the roster include Don Ross, Roxanne Potvin, Colin Linden, Doug Cox, and Andy McKee, whose YouTube performance of "Drifting" has been played over 14 million times.  Also of "note" are Bryan Bowers, the world's best autoharp player; Dala, the captivating "20-something" female duo whose career is on a major upward trajectory; and Dirk Powell & Riley Baugus, a duo performing the irresistible "deep roots" music of the southern United States.

A major addition to this year's festival site is an 8,000 square foot "Dance Tent" with a massive "sprung" dance floor to be built by a special team of festival volunteers.  Operating day and night, the new area will give festival-goers the opportunity to groove to the beat of great bands such as The Sadies, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ball & Chain, Genticorum, Donna the Buffalo, The Duhks, and Malian guitar sensation Vieux Farka Touré.

Other special features at this year's festival include:

  • "Music in Your Eyes" – An 8-foot x 40-foot participatory mural project coordinated by visual artist Arthur II, allowing hundreds of festival-goers to express their appreciation for the music of the late, great singer-songwriter, Willie P. Bennett.
  • "Uke Can Build It" – An opportunity for children to build and decorate their very own ukulele under the guidance of luthier Wolf Kater, then learn some basic playing techniques from uke wizards James Hill and Chalmers Doane.
  • "Common Ground" – 15 artists from diverse cultural and musical backgrounds will arrive in Ottawa early to work together finding common ground and creating new music and dance pieces to perform at the festival.
  • "Yoga and You" – Multiple opportunities for festival-goers to try out different styles of yoga in the beautiful, relaxing Britannia Park environment, courtesy of instructors  from the Windhorse Yoga studio.
  • "The EnviroTent" – Thanks to support from CUPE and Arbour Environmental Shoppe, this special area has provided space at the festival since 2002 for fascinating demonstrations and discussions of "green" ideas.

Festival organizers are dedicating this year's event to the many volunteers whose energy and expertise have been the key to the festival's success over the years. "They are the heart and soul of the festival," says Volunteer and Outreach Manager, Julia Adam, "This 15th birthday party is the perfect occasion for everyone in the community to say thanks!"

  

Hours of operation:

 
  • Thursday, August 14 – 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  • Friday, August 15 – 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, August 16 – 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m
  • Sunday, August 17  – 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
 

Earlybird 4-day passes are on sale now for $70, with special youth and teen passes available.  Children under 16 are admitted free.

Festival passes are available from Capital Tickets (www.capitaltickets.ca, 613 599-3267, toll-free 877-788-3267 and all Sports Experts outlets), and at the following locations:

 
  • The Ottawa Folklore Centre – 1111 Bank at Sunnyside, 613-730-2887
  • All CD Warehouse locations – 1383 Clyde, 1717 St. Laurent and 499 Terry Fox
  • The Ottawa Folk Festival office – 858 Bank at Fifth, 613-230-8234.

For out-of-town visitors, special packages including accommodation and festival admission are available at Brookstreet Hotel, the festival's spectacular new hotel partner - www.brookstreet.ca

For more information about the 2008 Ottawa Folk Festival, see www.ottawafolk.org

The Ottawa Folk Festival, a non-profit charitable organization, gratefully acknowledges the support of:

 
  • The Canadian Union of Public Employees
  • The Department of Canadian Heritage
  • The Canada Council for the Arts
  • The Ontario Arts Council
  • The City of Ottawa
  • The Ontario Ministry of Tourism
  • Ottawa Festivals
  • Brookstreet Hotel
  • Big Rock Brewery
  • Metro Ottawa
  • The Ottawa Folklore Centre
  • Galaxie CBC's Continuous Music Network
  • The Knowledge Circle
  • Bowie Electrical
  • Rogers Television
  • On Your Marks Printing
  • Steve’s Music
  • Ten Thousand Villages
  • And the many community businesses, individual donors and volunteers who provide generous support for this community event.


Evening Performances – 2008 Ottawa Folk Festival

    

Thursday Evening, August 14:

Vieux Farka Toure (Mali) - Touring West African groove band

The Carolina Chocolate Drops (North Carolina) - High-energy Southern string band, a hit at last year's festival

Don Ross & Andy McKee (Ontario/U.S.) - Fingerstyle and percussive guitar champions

Finest Kind (Ottawa) - Superb vocal harmonies, festival favourites

Colores Andinos (S. America/Ottawa) - Soulful music of the Andes

Ana Miura (Ottawa) - Award-winning singer-songwriter, part of Japan-Canada celebration

Arthur McGregor (Ottawa) - Inspiring musician and songleader who has established several folk fest traditions

Musical Tribute to Bill Hawkins (Ottawa) - High-profile multi-performer CD release celebration honouring highly-respected Ottawa songwriter and former Bruce Cockburn bandmate, Bill Hawkins

Friday Evening, August 15

Broken Social Scene (Toronto) - World-famous Canadian indie rock supergroup

Jerry Douglas (Nashville) - Revered world-class dobro player with his band

Donna the Buffalo (New York) - Zydeco, folk-rock, country-rock, reggae and bluegrass - all very danceable!

Dala (Toronto) - Young, highly-engaging female duo with delicious vocal harmonies

Konsonans (Ukraine) - Dynamic klezmer octet from the Ukraine

Catherine MacLellan (PEI) - Gene MacLellan's daughter, a rising star

Bryan Bowers (California) - The world's best autoharp player

Saturday Evening, August 16

Sarah Harmer (Toronto) - Juno-winning singer-songwriter and passionate environmentalist

The Sadies (Ontario) - Everyone's favourite alt-country band

Country Joe McDonald (California) - 60's cult legend

Colin Linden (Toronto/Nashville) - Grammy-winning multi-talented blues and roots artist

James Hill & Anne Davison (Nova Scotia) - Virtuosic ukulele + cello

Genticorum (Montreal) - Inspired nouveau-trad Québécois trio

Wil (Calgary) - Strong, compelling indie rock duo - voice, acoustic guitar and drums

Ball & Chain (Ottawa) - Cajun and classic country music

Sunday Evening, August 17

Rufus Wainwrightstrong> (Montreal/New York) - A leading singer-songwriter of his generation

Odetta (New York) - "The queen of American folk music"

The Duhks (Winnipeg) - Unique, award-winning fiddle/guitar/banjo/percussion/vocal ensemble

Roxanne Potvin (Gatineau) - Young electric blues phenomenon

Dirk Powell & Riley Baugus (Louisiana) - Southern U.S. acoustic groove

Spiral Beach (Toronto) - Indie rock offspring of Canadian folk heroes

D.Rangers (Winnipeg) - Intense alt-country band

Andy Rush & The Terry Penner Festival Choir - Big sound, lots of fun and energy – a participatory Ottawa Folk Festival tradition

2008 Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Collaboration featuring Benoit Bourque (Quebec), The Carolina Chocolate Drops (North Carolina), Claire Jenkins (Toronto), Jaxon Haldane (D.Rangers, Winnipeg), James Hill (Nova Scotia), Anne Davison (Nova Scotia), Petr Cancura (New York/Ottawa), Shara Weaver (Ottawa), Radoslav Lorkovic (Nashville) and Timothy Mason (Boston)

Also Appearing at the 2008 Ottawa Folk Festival

Arthur II (Ottawa) - Gifted visual artist orchestrating a large participatory mural as a tribute to the late Willie P. Bennett

Benoit Bourque (Quebec) - Accordion player, foot percussionist, dancer, dance caller, former member of Matapat and Le Vent du Nord

Claire Jenkins (Toronto) - Young, intriguing, theatrical singer-songwriter, arranger and band leader

Doug Cox (BC) - Canada's premier dobro player

Greg Lahey (Ottawa) - Intrepid explorer of early acoustic blues

James Farr (Chelsea) - 18-year-old guitar wizard, 2008 Galaxie Rising Stars Award winner

Jowi Taylor and The Six String Nation Guitar (Toronto) - Canada's famous "citizenship guitar"

Margaret Feuerstack & David Johnstone (Ottawa/Gatineau) - Classy, tasteful "fazz" (folk-jazz), 2008 Harvey and Louise Glatt Award winners

Petr Cancura (New York/Ottawa) - Sax and mandolin, jazz and folk, structure and improvisation

Radoslav Lorkovic (Nashville) - Versatile, joyful accordion and piano player

Shara Weaver (Ottawa) - Marvellously inventive dancer drawing on many traditions

The Delightful Divas (Toronto) - 3-woman a cappella gospel and jazz group

The Healing Divas (Toronto) - 4-woman vocal group channeling pure, positive energy

Timothy Mason (Boston) - Spoken word artist once voted "most standardly deviated"

Village Harmony (New York) - 24-voice touring teen choir performing world music repertoire