With the mercury hitting the high 20s this week, it is easy for the mind to wander to the South Country Fair as most of Lethbridge’s roots music community mark it on their calendars and plan their vacations accordingly every year.
The 30th annual South Country Fair is July 15-17, but there are several events leading up to it.
If you feel like a
weekend road trip, the first event is in High River, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Masonic Hall (306 4th Street South SE), April 15 where Newfoundland Celtic rock band the Derina Harvey band will be performing along with South Country Fair mayor Washboard Hank.
“He’s flying in all the way from Ontario to play. And The Derina Harvey Band, so it will be a dance your pants off night,” enthused South Country Fair Artistic Director Jana MacKenzie.
“It’s our thirtieth, so this is a big year and we wanted to do something outside of the weekend,” she said.
The Derina Harvey Band were a runaway hit on the east stage last year.
“And our volunteer co-ordinator April Hutchinson Blackmer is from High River, so she doesn’t have to travel,” MacKenzie said adding the Fair attracts people from all over Southern Alberta.
The $25 tickets for that show are moving slowly, however that is not the case for the Fair itself.
“Advance ticket sales for the Fair are way up over last year. Which is great because we lost some funding, so advance ticket sales mean even more than usual to us,” MacKenzie continued.
The other event happening before the Fair is a big open mic at the Slice on May 27, which takes the place of their annual songwriting competition.
“We had some trouble getting the prize money this year but it will be back next year,” she promised.
“We still wanted to do something at the Slice. They have been so good to us so we needed a gathering of South Country Fair peeps,” she continued.
“So if you have a song, you should come out and play it,” she said.
