The South Country Fair family reunites this summer, July 15-17 in the Fort Macleod Fish and Game Park after a two -year long Covid-induced hiatus.
“(It will be) A grand reunion of the SCF community we have missed so dearly with exciting and inspiring musicians, artists, performers, poets, artisans and vendors to fill your bucket and quench your thirst after a long festival drought. And we promise it will be worth the wait,” summarized Festival General manager Gillian Moranz, in an e-mail interview.
They released the schedule last week, but after artists have sorted out logistical issues, the final schedule will be released in June.
“It feels absolutely amazing to be back in action! SCF has been such a staple in our regional music community for over three decades, and having an unexpected two year hiatus was difficult and strange in so many ways. It has been an interesting ride getting back on the horse, shaking the dust off, and remembering how to do what we do (or how to adapt what we need to adapt), but it truly is like riding a bike. Once you get your balance and rhythm everything comes flooding back. It is going to be a beautiful reunion for the SCF community, there is no doubt about it, ” wrote Moranz.
She noted over 90 per cent of the artists booked for the cancelled 2020 festival have been booked for this year.
“Yes! Around 90 per cent of the line up was confirmed to perform in 2020 when we initially had to postpone the festival (and who could have predicted that postponement would run through 2021 as well?) so it is really exciting to finally be able to present those acts. We know how hard the live music community suffered during these last few years so carrying over the bookings felt like the honourable thing to do to support the artists that we were not able to present in 2020.”
This years line up includes Hawksley Workman; Terra Lightfoot; Kiran Ahluwalia; Ifriqiyya Electrique; Eugene Chadbourne & Jen Paches; April Verch & Cody Walters; Trio Svin; The Alien Rebels; A Million Dollars in Pennies; Beautiful Joe; Benj Rowland; Big Fancy & the Shiddy Cowboys; Copperhead ;Don Bajema; Emily Triggs; Jon Martin & Lovers; Kitty & The Rooster; Makiisma; Taylor Ackerman's Global Acid Reset; The Torchettes; Paul Silveria; Sandra Lamouche; Andrew Scott; Circus Acts Insomniacs; Visual Feast Projections By Tim Folkmann and Patrick Arès-Pilon and more.
“I am honestly excited for the whole package, but I also love the things that I think will take folks by surprise. Ifriqiyya Electrique are going to blow people away, Trio Svin will definitely take audiences for a wild ride, and Eugene Chadbourne is an underground legend that I feel so honoured to be able to work with. Every act incites excitement for different reasons. I think there is a great balance of regional acts, western Canadian acts, bigger names, and more obscure artists that create that festival buffet that has a little something for everyone,” she wrote.
Attendance has been limited to 800 tickets as concert lovers cautiously step back into the waters of a Covid-world.
“We recognized that coming back after a two-year hiatus is something we have never done before, so we wanted to make sure that we kept our numbers to something manageable as we shake off the dust, get back to the rhythm of things, and adapt the festival to the Covid era of outdoor music and events. We are also hoping to encourage people to see SCF as an engaged community more than an event you simply purchase a ticket to. The focus should be music, art, performance, and community, with the party as a perk on the periphery. By limiting tickets this year we are hoping to be able to really engage our heart-cores and re-centre what our intentional community is really all about,” she wrote, noting tickets are a little more expensive this year.
“Our ticket prices have increased a small amount to offset the increased cost of... everything in the world right now. Our capacity has been scaled and some of the site structure may shift a little bit, but all-in-all it will be the same SCF we all know and love,” she wrote.
Organizers are still being cautious about Covid, so precautions will be in place.
“Like many festivals in the global landscape, SCF is being as diligent as possible to ensure the health and safety of artists, audiences, volunteers and coordinators is paramount. We are fortunate to have an outdoor event, alleviating a lot of potential dangers of indoor transmission, but we are still being diligent to ensure health and safety are covered to the highest extent of our abilities. We will follow all provincial and federal mandates at the time of the festival, and are highly encouraging all persons onsite to be vaccinated. All artists and stage crew will be vaccinated without exception. We will have a high expectation that our audiences will follow and respect any protocols implemented on-site, and will have a no-tolerance policy for individuals who do not meet our protocols with respect. Because the covid climate is ever-changing we are watching the seasonal shift very carefully and will continue to provide further updates as the Fair approaches,” she wrote.
Adapting to a post Covid world h is just one of a couple challenges organizers have faced in bringing back South Country Fair.
“There have been two significant challenges that I have felt myself and have been echoed by our coordinating group. One is just remembering how to do these things we've always done after a (very strange) two years, while also pivoting to adapt to the ever-changing situation. The other is rallying the troops and building some momentum. The hardest part is always getting the ball rolling, but once we started to gain some traction it all started to feel exciting and familiar, and we've shaken off the dust and are now moving full steam ahead,” she wrote.
Even with fewer tickets being available, the South Country Fair still needs lots of volunteers.
“Even though we have scaled back our capacity for this year we still need a significant number of volunteers to make SCF happen. As always, SCF is 100% volunteer run and, like so many festivals across the country, we couldn't do what we do without the amazing pool of humans that have contributed their time and energy to the Fair. We have had a lot of success re-engaging our volunteer community after a two year hiatus but we still have important slots to fill and are continuing the call to fill our gaps. Volunteer perks are still early site access, Volunteer appreciation BBQ on the Thursday before the festival, and a discounted ticket price once your shifts are filled (among others). If you are interested in volunteering head over to http://southcountryfair.com/volunteer/ and fill in the volunteer registration form and our incredible Volunteer Coordinator April Hutchinson will help you find the right position for you,”
South Country Fair 2022 is July 15-17, 2022. The festival begins 5 p.m. Friday and runs until 5 p.m. Sunday evening. Weekend passes are $155 including taxes.
Volunteer passes are $80 including taxes though the rate may change depending on position and number of hours worked. Kids 12 and under get in for free.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
