Mission Folk Music Festival, on track for July, says Vancouver "sister festival" worth fighting for
Artistic director sees Vancouver Folk Music Festival cancellation as a “wakeup call” for arts fans
The Mission Folk Music Festival says it was only able to proceed with its 2022 event with the help of provincial recovery funding.
THE MISSION FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL is sending out a rallying cry for supporters of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival—which yesterday announced it had cancelled this year’s event, and would hold a general meeting to close down operations February 1.
“Vancouver Folk [fest] was an inspiration to our foundation,” Michelle Demers Shaevitz, artistic director of the Mission Folk Music Festival, told Stir today. “It’s our big sister festival, and I mean that. I believe live music is worth fighting for….We’ve shared artists, resources, and volunteers—they’re part of our festival family.”
Like the larger Vancouver event, which cancelled its fest this year and is moving to dissolve the organization, the Mission fest saw a 30 to 40 percent increase in costs for necessities like fencing and portable toilets. Still, the Mission event is moving forward to return to Fraser River Heritage Park July 21 to 22 for its 36th annual edition. But it won’t be easy. “We are okay but every public music event and festival is nervous,” Demers Shaevitz said. “What we knew before the pandemic we don’t know anymore. We have a great community and audience support—we still need that support and we’ll need that moving forward.”
Demers Shaevitz said one-time funding last year from the province’s Fairs, Festivals and Events Recovery Fund grant ensured that Mission could happen in Fraser River Heritage Park. Another outdoor music festival on the brink of cancellation, Squamish Constellation Festival, this week told Stir there was an urgent need for that recovery money to be extended.
“COVID funding got a lot of people through but I think that we need to remind ourselves of the value and power of live music and the communities that come together around music, in particular folk music, and the longterm value of folk music festivals,” Mission’s Demers Shaevitz said.
She stressed this has been a wakeup call to music fans: “If you want the opportunity to see live artists from across the world and country in your town or your region, organizations like ours and other folk-music organizations need your help. People are hurting financially and if you can’t give money, give your time.”
She pointed out that volunteering at festivals is often the way Vancouver arts workers and technical specialists get their start in the field. “We have benefitted from public funding,” she said. “But each of these artistic organizations has had a financial impact on their community as well.”
Meanwhile, she was still hopeful about the Vancouver Folk Music Festival's prospects: "I trust that the board and staff of Vancouver Folk will find their footing and proceed as they need to do to come out of this situation."
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