Folk Festival to Rock Canso
The Stan Rogers Folk Festival will be rocking Canso again during the first weekend in July.
Visitors to this year's festival, July 2-4, will see major site improvements and two hectares (five acres) of new camping space. Improvements to the festival are being made with an $83,740 contribution from Economic Development and Tourism.
"Each year we have more demand than we can possibly handle for camping and accommodations at the festival," said Troy Greencorn, co-ordinator of the Chedabucto Bay Folk Society. "We have created a site that will allow us to host all the visitors who want to attend."
Attendance at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival has grown since its inception. Nearly 8,000 people travelled to Canso for the festival last year, up from about 5,000 in 1997, the inaugural year. That growth trend is expected to continue this summer.
"This festival has tremendous potential for Canso and may eventually become the catalyst for the development of an expanded cultural tourism industry in eastern Nova Scotia," said Housing and Municipal Affairs Ray White, speaking on behalf of Manning MacDonald, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism.
The Stan Rogers Folk Festival is a great example of a community coming together to carry out a major economic development project, said Mr. White. The festival employs the services of more than 500 volunteers on 28 volunteer crews to stage the annual event. The economic impact of the festival was estimated at $1.5 million for 1998.
The roster for this year's festival represents many regions and cultures of Canada, along with the musical flavours of the United States and Europe. On the playbill this year are Maritime artists Bruce Guthro, the Irish Descendants, Modabo, Barachois, the Ennis Sisters, J.P. Cormier, Sonya Wood, Grassfire, Richard Wood, Patricia Murray and Urban Carmichael. Also being featured are Canadian and international artists Big Bill Morganfield, the Freight Hoppers, Balfa Toujours, Valdy, Cindy Church, Faith Nolan, the Arrogant Worms and more.
In 1998, the Stan Rogers Folk Festival was the recipient of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia Award of Excellence in the events and conferences category as well as the Antigonish Eastern Shore Tourist Association Albert E. Whidden award for outstanding contribution to tourism on the Eastern Shore. The festival was also one of the finalists in the province's first Community Economic Development Awards.
Economic Development and Tourism provides business counselling, export assistance and financial support to businesses and communities throughout the province. The department supports projects that grow from local initiative and that build on the strengths of communities, creating jobs and increasing exports in the process.