FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1999. All Rights Reserved

Music by Susan Liddle This year marks the 20th anniversary of a Calgary folk festival, which owes much of its success to the hard work and determination of the earliest founders and volunteers. Some of those involved in the early years have their unique perspective on the festival, and the changes that have occurred since it began. In 1979, for Alberta’s 75th anniversary, a touring festival of various musicians called the Traveling Folk Festival and Good Time Medicine Show travelled around the province. In Calgary, the festival was held on Prince’s Island Park. After Calgary city parks officials asked for help in running it the following year, Mansel Davies of the Calgary Folk Club became the first artistic director of the Calgary Folk Festival. "It involved more and more people from other clubs and became a joint effort, a collaborative effort," Mansel says of the planning that went on during the early days. Names instantly recognizable today were among the first performers. "Before the era of superstar folkies, we had Stan Rogers, k.d. lang, Rita MacNeil. The early performers did have a certain charm – they were pure in what they presented." But funding and support for the festival was almost as hard to come by as clear skies in the early years. "Twenty years ago, there wasn’t great media exposure of folk music," Mansel says. "There was a constant struggle to get funds. The healthy change is that the city is behind it today. It’s now regarded as part of the city’s festivities." Mansel has seen the festival evolve into the large production it is today. "The producers of the show have a huge budget. It’s a big gamble. They’re doing some courageous things. There’s a huge amount of expertise there. I respect them for it. I’m very proud that it’s carried on. It’s being done differently, but it’s still carried on. "The Calgary folk festival has become a very important part of Calgary’s cultural life. I’m delighted more people and families are going to it," says Mansel. In 1981, Les Siemieniuk just went down to the festival to check it out. "It was fantastic. It was a beautiful site. It was raining. They were doing a very good job, considering it was only the second one." A music producer for CBC Radio at the time, he started recording off the mainstage in 1982. "It was a good place to do interviews. I played everything I recorded later on Simply Folk, on CBC Radio." Les says that the best thing about the Calgary Folk Festival was having 50-odd musicians in one place. "The most interesting thing was watching it develop. It started as a two-day festival. It kept growing, in spite of the rain. In the first nine years, eight of them had rain. Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver – all had runs of good weather, and you need that to get a festival started. We didn’t have that." Les considers volunteers the most important part of the festival, and is amazed by their dedication. "They love the music – they want to share it with the rest of the city. There’s always been a new wave of volunteers. The festival really does belong to the city. It’s been here long enough to have a lot of people put their blood, sweat and tears into it. It’s part of Calgary." 1987 was the last year the Calgary Folk Club put on the folk festival. The lineup was impressive, the weather was cold, windy and miserable. In spite of a year’s hard work, the festival was a big financial loss. In February 1988, a one-night folk festival was held at the Jubilee Auditorium, as part of the Arts Festival for the Olympic Winter Games, and that seemed to end it until, in January 1989, Siemieniuk talked fellow folk aficionado Vic Bell into holding a meeting. At that meeting, the enthusiasm and support was overwhelming and the summer of 1989 saw yet another Calgary Folk Festival with Vic Bell as artistic director. In 1994 Kerry Clarke, former CJSW radio program director, was hired as artistic director and – in an effort to change the public’s perception – changed the name of the event into the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Two years later Terry Wickham, producer of the highly successful Edmonton folk festival, was hired as producer of the Calgary show. According to Terry, the Calgary Folk Music Festival is currently in the middle of a growth curve and has a healthy future. "The best days are still to come for the festival," he says. "It takes a while to grow roots, people tell their friends, more people learn about it. Many people don’t realize that children are allowed in free. Kids who used to attend when they were eight or 10 years old are now adults, and are returning." He also honours those who began the festival. "It’s much easier to work on a festival once it’s established. The hard work is to begin one." Last year, the Calgary Folk Music Festival sold out for the first time on Saturday and Sunday, with attendance over the four blissfully sunny days reaching 33,000. More warm weather will only help the festival, but it was the drive and dedication of the festival organizers and volunteers during the early years that kept the flame burning all those years ago.

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