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Spring /Summer 2009

l OCFF Summer Festivalsl Otherwise Famous Folkies l State Of The Folk Nation Follow-up

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2008/09

Executive Committee

President – Paul Mills..............paul@themillstream.comVice President – Ellen Hamilton........ lfrog@kingston.netTreasurer – Dennis Landry..... landry.dennis@gmail.comSecretary................................................ position.vacantMember at Large -Tina DesRoches..................grassrootsontour@yahoo.caPast President - Aengus Finnan............finnan@eagle.ca

Directors

Richard Flohil................................ rflohil@sympatico.caDan Greenwood.........................greenwoodd@socan.caTamara Kater...................tkater@winnipegfolkfestival.caDan Kershaw..................................kershawd@socan.caLarry LeBlanc............................................ ljle@aol.comPaul Loewenberg......... paulfromsudbury@sympatico.caNicole Rochefort...............nicolerochefort@hotmail.comCandace Shaw.......................candaceshaw@gmail.comJan Vanderhorst......................... justusfolk@rogers.com

STAFFExecutive DirectorPeter MacDonald................pmacdonald@ocff.ca

General ManagerJennifer Fornelli......................... jfornelli@ocff.ca

Youth and Community Outreach Manager Erin Barnhardt.......................ebarnhardt@ocff.ca

Office AdministratorJennifer Ellis.................................. jellis@ocff.ca

Administrative CoordinatorJennifer Nicholson.................jnicholson@ocff.ca

Phone:..1-866-292-6233.or.613-560-5997.....Fax:..613-560-2001info@ocff.ca........www.ocff.ca

Mailing.address:508-B.Gladstone.Avenue,..Ottawa,.ON..K1R.5P1

Printing.and.layout.by.Orion.PrintingCover.photo.by.Norman.Ayerst.“Teaching.The.Dance”.Sani-Abu.Mohammed.Allen.teaching.a.traditional.African.dance.to.an.enthusiastic.group.on.a.beautiful.sunny.afternoon.at.the.Guelph.Hillside.Festival.‘08.

Deadline for Future EditionsSeptember.1.–.Conference.ProgramDecember.15.–.WinterMay.1.–.Spring/Summer

AD RATESBusiness.Card...................................... $95/$135Quarter.Page...................................... $145/$195Third.of.a.Page................................... $195/$245Half.Page........................................... $225/$300Full.Page............................................ $250/$325Inside.Cover....................................... $375/$450

Listed.above:..member/non-member.rates;.not.applicable.for.Conference.Program...Please.visit.our.website.for.conference.issue.ad.rates,.as.well.as.formats.and.sizes.Submissions.(max.500.words).and.pictures.welcome!..We.cannot.guarantee.inclusion.of.your.submission.in.Folk.Prints.(but.we’ll.try!)...Please.send.submissions.in.text.format.only...If.you.have.pictures,.call.us.before.you.send.them.

The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the OCFF. Questions or comments regarding Folk Prints should be brought to the attention of Jennifer Fornelli at jfornelli@ocff.ca. Articles and photos may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the author and/or photographer.

O.N.T.A.R.I.O...C.O.u.N.C.I.L...O.F...F.O.L.K...F.e.S.T.I.v.A.L.S

Table of Contents

The President’s Voice ............................................................................................................................... 4

Executive Director’s Message .............................................................................................................5 & 6

OCFF At Réseau Ontario’s 2009 Contact Ontarois Conference .............................................................. 7

OCFF Board Nominations......................................................................................................................... 7

State Of The Folk Nation .....................................................................................................................8 & 9

How Green is the OCFF? ........................................................................................................................ 11

OCFF Summer Festivals .................................................................................................................12 & 13

Otherwise Famous Folkies ..............................................................................................................14 & 15

Songs From The Heart 2008 ................................................................................................................... 15

So You Got a Showcase? ................................................................................................................16 & 17

New Members ......................................................................................................................................... 17

Have Guitar, Will Travel ............................................................................................................................ 19

2009 OCFF Youth Mentorship Program .................................................................................................. 20

A New Feature ......................................................................................................................................... 20

Strategic Planning ................................................................................................................................... 21

An Agency Perspective On The OCFF Conference ................................................................................ 22

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The president’s voice by Paul Mills

I n t h e l a s t i s s u e o f Fo l k Prints, I told you about some of the things I was seeing on the h o r i zo n fo r t h e O C F F. C h i e f among these was a thorough review of what our organization does and how it does it. Well, now we are in the thick of a full-on strategic planning project which is being shepherded by the Strategic Planning Committee - Dan Greenwood (chair), Dan Kershaw, Larr y LeBlanc, Paul Loewenberg, Peter MacDonald and yours truly. We are asking you to get involved as wel l . Dan Greenwood’s article in this issue of Folk Pr ints wil l give you a detailed look at what a strategic plan is and how i t will be put together; but first,

I would like to give you a bit of background on what has led us to this initiative. The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals was founded twenty-three years ago by a small group of s ix Ontar io fest iva ls . I t s in i t ia l purpose was to share ideas, resources and expertise in order to make the festivals better. In the ensuing years, the organization grew in both membership and purpose. More festivals joined the fold but also organizations such as agencies, m a n a g e m e n t a n d r e c o r d companies, publicists, etc., and lots and lots of individuals, chief among these being performers. This growth was fuelled in large measure by the OCFF’s annual conference, which morphed from a meeting of just festivals into a much larger gathering of the general folk music community. And the participants came from everywhere: not just Ontario but all parts of Canada, the USA and beyond. While the conference continued to offer festivals a place to meet and share their ideas and experience, it also began offering content for its other members : professional d e v e l o p m e n t , m e n t o r i n g , showcasing opportunities, an exhibit hall, etc. So we find ourselves in a s i t u a t i o n w h e r e t h e O C F F ’s

fo u n d i n g p r i n c i p l e s a n d i t s current ac t ivit ies are a l i t t le out of whack . This needs to be f ixed. That ’s why we are e m b a r k i n g o n t h e s t r a t e g i c planning process which Dan describes in his article. As he explains, the process begins with a lot of information gathering. We have already star ted this with our Festival members, by holding consultation meetings in London, Toronto and Kingston, and we wil l be fol lowing up with the whole membership through questionnaires and a number of one-on-one interviews. I would like to encourage all of you to take the time to provide your input to this impor tant work. The over-arching goal is to refocus our organization so that it is positioned to best serve its membership and the folk music community. Our aim is to present this new vision of the OCFF at our conference in Ottawa this coming October. T h i s i s a n e xc i t i n g t i m e for the OCFF and I feel truly honoured to be able to serve as the Board President during this period of renewal. We have an organization that is poised to make a huge difference to the culture and communit y that is folk music in Ontar io and beyond.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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Executive director’s message- A DIPLOMATIC POSTING by Peter MacDonald

Eight months have passed since I assumed the role of Ex-ecutive Director of the OCFF. What a ride it’s been! I tell people al l the t ime how much I am enjoying the work and it’s true – our members, partners, spon-sors and funders make it easy. I’m happy to say that there have been very few bad days – and those have usually been about funding, or sponsorship – things that are often out of our direct control, but which affect us all so much. I’m happy to report on a number of things that keep us excited around the office.

Folk Prints This magazine is under re-view, for one thing. In addition to being the journal of our orga-nization, we are contemplating it as an “ongoing conversation” of sorts, to continue presenting ideas that come up throughout the year, but especially at our annual conference. In this issue, we touch on the “State of the Folk Nation” by reaching back to the nascent days of the Ontario folk music scene, in an article penned by Gary Cristall. David Newland has a piece on people known to us, but not as folkies. Lynn Miles has her say on show-casing, and we also focus on the relationship being built with our Francophone colleagues at Ré-seau Ontario. Items from vari-ous Board committees continue to inform and invite input.

Festival Consultations We have held four face -to-face sessions with Festival members since January. These have been great opportunities to meet OCFF members, and in many cases, to rekindle relation-ships. There have been excellent

suggestions, a few gripes, and many opportunities to explain how things happen as they do. It ’s refreshing to see just how connected we all are, and how passionate festival organizers are about thei r events , and about the larger festival com-munity. These discussions are already feeding into the strategic planning activit ies discussed elsewhere in this issue of Folk Prints.

It’s Easy Being Green Due in large part to the in-credible energy on the Board’s Green Committee (the Green Team) there has been significant effort put into making the OCFF into a much more environmen-tally-friendly organization. We should be leading and educating our members on ways to work and leave the least destructive impact on our planet. Instead, we are learning right along with you. Watch for some resources on the OCFF website that are proven winners at member fes-tivals and events.

Festival Visits Staff and Directors are hit-ting the road this year to visit as many member festivals as we can. That will give us a fabulous opportunity to see other mem-bers playing music and others in their roles suppor ting the work of festivals. Thanks go out to the festivals that have been very welcoming to us as we plan those visits. It’s been many years since we visited the communities we serve, and it feels right.

Community Outreach Er in Barnhardt has done such a fine job with the Com-munity Outreach portfolio here

a t t h e O C F F. We h ave s e e n increases in participation and commitment from many new constituencies and groups who might not have noticed us with-out having heard from Erin. As we launch the process to find her full-time replacement, we are excited at the prospect of finding someone who shares her passion, skill set and determination to help make the OCFF a welcom-ing, vibrant, diverse home for all the members of the folk and roots communities in Ontario.

The Conference Our next issue of Folk Prints will be the Conference Program. It’s hard to believe that our larg-est communal gathering is a short five months away. Confer-ence registration is open and the Early Bird rates are low! See the insert in this magazine or visit www.ocff.ca to take advantage of all the opportunities.

Volunteers What would we do with-out you? Our festivals, concert series, conferences, meetings, community social events and

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every single job that goes into promoting and supporting folk and roots activities would be mere shadows of themselves if it weren’t for volunteers. We can’t thank you nearly enough, but we can work harder to lead you well, give you safe and fun working experiences and find more and better ways to thank you!

The Board of Directors Having been a Director of t h e O C F F d u r i n g i t s re ce nt period of renewal, I can speak first-hand about the importance of the Board. These folks are my direct supervisors. I answer to them and they provide me with the direction I need to move forward with our mission and mandate. I urge all members to become more involved in the nomination of candidates and

in the election of new Directors. This process is key to the vitality of the OCFF and is your single best opportunity to express your democratic intent. Learn about the candidates. Do they speak for you and the issues of concern to you? Once elected, they make decisions on your behalf, and help to set the direction of the OCFF for years to come. Won’t you please review the ad on page 7 and become involved?

The OCFF Staff Someone said recently that most of what gets done here at HQ is done by magic. I don’t buy that. I know better, because I get to see the OCFF staff in action every day. Jennifer For-nel l i , Jennifer El l is , Jennifer Nicholson and Erin Barnhardt are dedicated to their tasks and keep our members, partners and

funders in mind at every turn. Every day, we learn how to work better together for the good of the OCFF. We also have a good deal of fun. We have much to do and while I could complain about a lack of resources, I won’t. We all share those concerns. Now if only we could decide on which albums to play in the office at any given time… Now get out and enjoy a fes-tival. Write a song. Change your banjo str ings. Bang a drum. Support live music. Most of all – show your excitement at being a member of the OCFF commu-nity and take your diplomatic posting seriously - you are the OCFF’s best ambassadors.

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I n the second year of a partnership between the OCFF and Réseau Ontario, an Ottawa-based network that services the Franco - Ontar ian per forming arts sector, we have introduced a special award component. The first annual OCFF Award was presented to Louis-Phi l ippe Robillard at the Contact onta-rois conference in Mississauga, ON. As this relationship devel-ops, we look forward to unfold-ing new and exciting connec-tions between the OCFF and Réseau Ontario membership and communities. Appuyé par deux musiciens, Louis-Philippe Robillard a offert une performance remarquée lors de sa vitrine musicale à Contact ontarois 2009. Il a reçu pour cela le prix du Conseil des festivals folks de l ’Ontario (CFFO), un

prix offert avec l’appui de Mu-sicaction en partenariat avec le ministère du Patrimoine ca-nadien par son programme de Vitrines musicales. Louis-Phi l ippe Robi l lard, jeune artiste de la relève, of-fre un spec tacle acoustique invitant à l ’écoute de textes qui jettent un regard lucide sur les enjeux et questionne -ments actuels. Au fil des chan-sons qui traitent d’injustices et d’espoir, il développe avec l’auditoire une complicité qui suscite l’enthousiasme. Lo u i s - Ph i l i p p e R o b i l l a rd a la profonde conviction d’être une pomme, avec son lot de couleurs, de cœur et de pépins… Une chose est certaine c’est un artiste à découvrir! For fur ther details about Réseau Ontar io, please vis it www.reseauontario.ca.

OCFF AT RÉSEAU ONTARIO’S 2009 CONTACT ONTAROIS CONFERENCE par Frédéric Julien et Erin Barnhardt

BOARD NOMINATIONSOCFF Members are electing four new Directors at the annual conference.

Will YOU be one of them?Are you passionate about the folk music community?

Do you have skills in the areas of fundraising, marketing or communications?Nominations close July 15, 2009

Forms are available on the OCFF website: www.ocff.ca/contact/board.html

SILENT AUCTION ITEMS WANTEDThe.OCFF.is.now.in.the.process.of.collecting.donations.of.items.such.as.original.artwork,.pottery,.

quilts,.gift.certificates,.festival.passes,.musical.instruments.and.CDs..Over.$5,000.was.raised.last.year,.allowing.the.OCFF,.a.not-for-profit.organization,.to.continue.strengthening.the.Ontario.folk.community.

with.a.variety.of.programs..If.you.are.interested.in.making.a.donation,.please.contact.Nicole.Rochefort,.chair.of.the.Fundraising.Committee,.at.fundraising@ocff.ca.

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For almost a decade I ’ve been trying to figure out how we got here, we being ‘folk music’. The goal is a book, the succinct subtitle of which is “the history of folk music in English Canada a s a p o p u l a r m u s i c g e n re”. When Peter MacDonald asked me to contribute a little some-thing about my work, one of his suggestions was “something about your recent research into the history of folk, especially if there can be some emphasis on the Ontario scene.” As it hap-pened, I just returned from a trip to Toronto and a fascinating conversation with an unsung heroine of Ontario folkdom- Denyse Sterio- about La Coterie and Greg Curtis. Probably the most fun and useful aspect of my research has been unearthing the “pre-history ” of folk music - what happened before it burst on the scene in the sixties - creating what Utah Phillips used to call “the great folk scare.” I keep finding out stuff that delights and amazes me. La Coter ie and Greg Cur t is are per fec t examples. Who knew? Folk Music as we know it - a conglomeration of traditional songs found in Canada, songs from a variety of cultures and countries and contemporar y songs outside the commercial mainstream - was invented and promoted by two groups of folks, broadly speaking. First were the Communists, mainly young, often Jewish. The second group was the eccentrics - proto-beat-niks, art lovers and visionaries. You can find something I wrote about the former at www.vcn.

bc.ca/outlook, in the November/December issue. This is about the latter. A few years ago I was in-terviewing Klaas van Graft, an early Toronto folk singer who led The Moorings Trio and The Chanteclaires - both important Toronto folk groups in the early sixties - and who went on to have a very successful solo ca-reer. I asked Klaas about folk clubs in Toronto and casually stated, in all ignorance, that “of course” the first folk club in Toronto was The Village Corner Club. No, Klaas said, first there was La Coterie. Klaas then went

into the recesses of his house and came out with a clipping f ro m t h e To ro n to Te l e gr a m from Apri l 28, 1957, exactly fifty-two years ago as I write. The headline is “Sing A Song Of Folk-Singing” and Barbara Whalen, the journalist, writes that “every Thursday evening, from ten until midnight groups of young people meet in the back room of La Coterie, a coffee shop on Avenue Road” to sing folk songs. The article states that unlike many “closed” folk song clubs, this one was the first open to the public. Above the text is a photo of “young people”, seated

STATE OF THE FOLK NATION: GREG CURTIS AND LA COTERIE- TORONTO’S FIRST FOLK SINGER AND FOLK CLUB by Gary Cristall

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and engaged in singing while a standing guitarist accompanies them. The guitar player, identi-fied as the host of the club, was Greg Cur t is . I was stunned. Here was I, intrepid folk music historian, caught flat out ig-norant of either La Coterie or Greg Curtis. I started looking for information on both. As near as I can tell, Greg Curtis was Toronto’s first pro-fessional folk s inger. I don’t know where he came from - I’m told “out west” - or what hap-pened to him. What I do know is that in 1954 he was perform-ing “Canadian ballads” for the Women’s Press Club in Toronto, sharing the bill with a magician. He had a brief television show - The Ballad Singer - and became the house enter tainer at La Coterie. As I stumbled through the CBC archives I found a pre-cious snippet of tape with Greg Curtis singing “She’s Like the Swallow” accompanying danc-ers on a CBC TV show in 1955. In July of 1957 there is a notice in the Toronto Star of a fare -well concert as Greg sets off to Europe, and in March of 1958 a notice that he has returned and is “Singing nightly at Concerto Café at 89 Bloor St.” That is the last reference until an ad for Greg sharing the bill with Bon-nie Dobson, “Singing Sensation of the Mariposa Folk Festival” at the Fifth Peg in November of 1961. The next notice is that Greg is singing at The Village Corner Club with the tag “To-

morrow the featured artist will be Greg Curtis, Toronto’s first full time folk singer.” The next, and last, mention of Greg Curtis has him per forming on June 14, 1963 at the Gate of Cleve. I know nothing more. Several people have told me that Greg went west; others have said they seem to remember an obituary. Who he was and what happened to him is something I would very much like to know. Denyse Sterio, cofounder of La Coterie at twenty-one, is very much alive and present. I visited her in a small town a few hours north of Toronto in her home filled with art. Born in To-ronto, she met and married the son of a family of Macedonian restaurant owners. They met a gay couple - a brigadier-general Dewhurst and his companion, ‘Mr. Bogar t ’, who wanted to open a club. They opened La Coterie in 1954 in a house at 32 Avenue Rd. just north of Prince Arthur. Her father-in-law was skeptical. “You can’t make any money selling coffee and pastry,” she remembers him saying. La Coterie was an early haven in straitlaced Toronto for the “oth-ers”. It featured jazz from late until later- four a.m. - and folk music - Greg Curtis - earlier on. They had a source in the Mexi-can consulate for real Mexican food and an ad announcing that “Anna will be reading from 2 -7 daily.” Tea leaves? Tarot? Most of the staff was gay and Denyse told me that much of the cli-

entele was too, including Greg Curtis. She gave me a picture of the front room. There is a jazz quartet of black musicians and two interracial couples in the audience. She also remembers a good deal of pot smoking. It must have been quite a scene in 1955 Toronto where you couldn’t go to a movie on Sundays! Of Greg she remembers little, ex-cept that he was very good-look-ing and women swooned over him. Shortly after the Telegram article revealed Toronto’s first public folk club, Denyse and her husband, Bob, sold it and used the profits to buy a house. They went on to run other res-taurants but never featured folk music again. That, in brief, is the story of Greg Curtis and La Coterie. It’s a little bit of our past. It got Klaas van Graft his first solid gig and entry into the union - he took over when Greg left for Europe. Surely it helped cre-ate an audience for folk music in Toronto. A few years later there were a dozen clubs and hundreds of folk singers, but this was the first. If you know more, I’d love to hear about it. Drop a line to www.folkmusichistory.com.

Gary Cristall is a Vancouver vet-eran labourer in the folk music mines and budding author of a book about same. www.folkmusichistory.com is where his book outline lives.

Flash Your FolkArtists,.Agents.and.Managers!

Get.your.music.and.promo.into.the.hands.of.the.music.industry:.Artistic.Directors,.DJs,.Agents,.Concert.Series.Programmers,.Managers,.etc.

This.is.an.ideal.opportunity.to.enhance.your.presence.at.the.OCFF.Conference.this.year.To.have.your.submission.included,.visit www.ocff.ca.and.follow.the.link.to.the.Conference.page.

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www.thebrights.ca

Don Bray & Alyssa Wright

Soulful roots musictinged with blues, gospel and a touch of gypsy spirit

The Brights

Live Love Dreamavailable now at:

One of the most energetic Board committees at the OCFF is the Green Committee, also known as “ The Green Team.” They are pushing this organiza-tion towards more environmen-tally-conscious policies and day-to-day practices. The excitement of these folks even enticed me to join the committee as the staff representative! What role can the OCFF play in helping our members become more focused on sustain-able activities and the wise re-duction and reuse of resources? Just how Green is the OCFF itself? What is the OCFF doing to help “reduce the footprint” at the annual conference? Clearly, the OCFF should play a lead role by providing i ts members with resources to ass ist in the preparat ion of Green plans for fest ivals, organizations and individuals to implement. To that end, we have been gathering informa-tion from our festivals who have already implemented plans of varying intensities. Some are just getting started – others go all-out and run all operational dec is ions through a “Green filter ” to see how they fulfi l l the standards they have set for themselves. We’l l post these resources to the OCFF website as they are discovered and de-veloped. Here at OCFF headquar-ters, we have been reviewing all of our activities in an effort to become more responsible over time. Energy management (lights off when not in use, the furnace down a degree or two in winter) and extra efforts at rec ycl ing the items that are accepted by the City of Ottawa

have topped the list. More re-cently, we have been replacing various bits of technology and appliances with more efficient models, and “instant-on” items are turned off completely when not in use. We have been bud-geting for the use of post-con-sumer products as we move forward, and we expect to move soon to more environmentally-friendly methods of publishing Folk Prints. We can, and will, do more. The annual conference is the place where the OCFF has the biggest impact on the environ-ment, and the place where we can take decisive action. This year, we have eliminated the delegate bags, and we are work-ing with our sponsors and part-ners to find more efficient ways to deliver promotional materi-als to those who WANT them, rat h e r t h a n h e a r l ate r t h at many people simply threw out the items. Postering has been eliminated at the conference, with the exception of designated areas (poster boards) and we will have a team of volunteers

helping to monitor for stray promo items that accidentally get left in unauthorized areas. The hotel is providing us with more recycling bins, and we’ll be putting them into high-use areas. The Flash Your Folk pro-gram is returning in a more ro-bust way – with the opportunity to have music and promotional materials on a flash drive, dis-tributed to industry profession-als (festival A.D.s, concert series bookers , managers , agents , etc.) . In addition, each paid delegate is helping to finance future OCFF Green activit ies by paying a $5.00 levy as part of the conference registration fees. We imagine using these funds to support tree-planting, the move to conference programs that are printed on post-consumer, recycled paper and other worth-while activities. The folk communit y has always been at the vanguard of environmental activities. We are proud to continue that tradi-tion. Our future truly depends on it.

HOW GREEN IS THE OCFF? by Peter MacDonald

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. ........ June/juin – september/septembreHARBOURFRONT CENTRE SUMMER EVENTS – Toronto416-973-4000info@harbourfrontcentre.com.www.harbourfrontcentre.com

.June 26 - 28 juinTOTTENHAM BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL – Tottenham888-BLuGRAS888-258-4727cofac@eol.ca..www.tottenhambluegrass.ca

June 26 – 28 juinCITY ROOTS FESTIVAL – Torontooffice@torontocityroots.com.www.torontocityroots.com

July 3 - 5 juilletMARIPOSA FOLK FESTIVAL – Orillia 705-326-3655info@mariposafolk.com.www.mariposafolk.com

July 3 - 5 juilletNORTHERN LIGHTS FESTIVAL BORÉAL – Sudbury705-674-5512sandra.harris.nlfb@gmail.com.www.nlfbsudbury.com

July 9 - 12 juilletTD CANADA TRUST SUNFEST – London519-672-1522info@sunfest.on.ca.www.sunfest.on.ca

.July 9 - 12 juilletCANTERBURY FOLK FESTIVAL – Ingersoll519-485-6337ejc@rogers.com.www.canterburyfolkfestival.on.ca

July 17 - 19 juillet

FESTIVAL DU LOUP Célébration culturelle francophone– Penetanguishene705-533-3200./.705-533-3361mplalond@csolve.net.www.festivalduloup.on.ca

July 17 – 19 juilletHOME COUNTY FOLK FESTIVAL – London519-432-4310info@homecounty.ca..www.homecounty.ca

July 17 - 19 juillet

STEWART PARK FESTIVAL – Perth613-264-1190dhpbia@superaje.comwww.stewartparkfestival.ca

July 24 - 25 juilletINDIAFEST presented by Kala Manjari – London519-200-3338info@kalamanjari.orgwww.kalamanjari.org

July 24 - 26 juillet

HILLSIDE FESTIVAL – Guelph 519-763-6396info@hillsidefestival.ca.www.hillsidefestival.ca

July 31 JUILLET - AUGUST 2 août

BLUE SKIES FESTIVAL – Clarendon613-279-2610P.O..Box.2502,.Clarendon,.ON..K0H.1J0CAMPING.PASSeS.AvAILABLe.BY.MAIL-IN.LOTTeRY

10th.Anniversary

Photo By: Ian Davies

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August 14 - 16 aoûtSUMMERFOLK MUSIC AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL – Owen Sound519-371-2995gbfs@bmts.comwww.summerfolk.org

August 21 - 23 août

OTTAWA FOLK FESTIVAL – Ottawa613-230-8234festival@ottawafolk.orgwww.ottawafolk.org

August 28 - 30 aoûtPETERBOROUGH FOLK FESTIVAL – Peterborough705-874-6796ptbofolkfest@gmail.comwww.ptbofolkfest.ca

August 28 - 30 aoûtEAGLEWOOD FOLK FESTIVAL – Pefferlaw800-437-1567info@eaglewoodfolk.com.www.eaglewoodfolk.com

September 4 - 6 septembreSHELTER VALLEY FOLK FESTIVAL – Grafton905-355-1244festival@sheltervalley.comwww.sheltervalley.com

September 24 septembre - OCTOBER 4 OCTOBRESMALL WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL – Toronto416-536-5439info@smallworldmusic.comwww.smallworldmusic.com

July 31 JUILLET - aUGUST 2 aoûtMILL RACE FESTIVAL OF TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC – Cambridge519-621-7135mill_race@yahoo.com.www.millracefolksociety.com

August 7 - 9 aoûtFERGUS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND HIGHLAND GAMES – Fergus866-871-9442info@fergusscottishfestival.com.www.fergusscottishfestival.com

August 7 - 9 aoûtGODERICH CELTIC ROOTS FESTIVAL – Goderich519-524-8221festival@celticfestival.cawww.celticfestival.ca

August 7 - 9 aoûtLIVE FROM THE ROCK FOLK FESTIVAL – Red Rock807-886-2741livefromtherock@gmail.com www.livefromtherock.com

August 7 – 9 aoûtTROUT FOREST MUSIC FESTIVAL – Ear Falls807-222-2404trout@troutfest.comwww.troutfest.com

August 14 - 15 aoûtAMHERST ISLAND FOLK FESTIVAL – Stella613-384-8282info@amherstislandfolkfestival.cawww.amherstislandfolkfestival.ca

Photo By: David Kaufman

The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals welcomes you to festivalsLe Conseil des festivals folks de l’Ontario vous souhaite la bienvenue aux festivals ses membres

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OTHERWISE FAMOUS FOLKIES by David Newland

Yawn… I t ’s a s u n ny We d n e s d ay morning in May, and I ’m in the middle of the non-musical part of my work week. Another day, another few dollars, and another few hours I can’t spend noodling on a ukulele or honk-ing on a harmonica. Another day when the energy I give to support music and community (including writing this article!) is stolen from my corporate day job. I’m here at the office, acting as though I’m not exhausted from the gig on Monday night, which kept me up until 3 am on a work-night, or anxious about the gig tonight, for which I’m underprepared and unfocussed. I grin and bear it: after all, it ’s my choice to keep the music on a slow simmer as I pursue the difficult dream of a middle-class lifestyle for my spouse, my daughter and myself. The details may vary, but I bet this scenario is familiar to many of you. By day, I’m a web guy work-ing for a big media company in downtown Toronto. By night, I’m a passionate maker and sup-porter of music on the Ontario folk and roots scene: a perform-ing singer-songwriter, founder of the acoustic eighties band The McFlies, co-host of the weekly Corktown Ukulele Jam, MC for the annual Gordon Lightfoot tribute The Way We Feel, and member of the board of direc-tors of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival. It ’s all great stuff, and I’m grateful for my role in making it happen. Making music, and making music happen, makes me happy and helps me feel

fulfilled. It just doesn’t pay the bills. Being the Editor-in-Chief of Canoe.ca does. In fact, there are lots of good things about my job, not just the salary, or the two hyphens in the title. I write about issues of importance to me and hope they become important to others too. I have some influence on the stories we tell and how we tell them to Canadians. And sometimes – on Lightfoot ’s 70th birthday, for example – I seize the occasion to remind people about the value of authentic, original Canadian music in their lives. Does this sound l ike ra-tionalization? If so, I bet it ’s a familiar feeling: I know I’m not the only one who has a litany of mantras to justify the work that pays the bills. Still, on days like this I sometimes need more than affirmations; only real-life in-spiration gets me through. And who does a stealth folk-singer look to for inspiration but the experts? Charlie Angus is the expert who first leaps to mind. He was a full-time music maker with the Gr ievous Angels before he became the NDP MP for Timmins. He’s probably better known in that capacity now, but it’s cheering to know that he could, at any point, pick up the guitar again and croon. I can’t help wondering how much time he spends wishing he were doing exactly that. Another politician-musician is federal Liberal powerhouse, and former NDP premier of Ontario Bob Rae. Rae played a role in the genesis of Bob Bossin’s classic Dief Will Be the Chief Again, and although play-

ing jazz and classical tunes on a Steinway may have chipped away at his folk cred, he still comes out miles ahead of fellow pianist, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Th e n t h e re’s Pa u l Q u a r-rington, noted Canadian author and columnist, who takes to the stage with Porkbelly Futures as often as he can, sometimes joined by Juno-winning brother Tony. I sometimes think of my pal Jay Ingram, host of Discov-er y Channel ’s “Dai ly Planet,” who plays mandolin, fiddle and guitar and has a penchant for Dylan. Or my colleague Tara Slone of Joydrop, more a rocker than a folkie, but a huge Light-foot fan who pays her bills by hosting Inside Jam at SUN TV. These folks keep picking and grinning despite the many chal-lenges of “real life.” For the ultimate inspiration, though, I look to the sky. That’s where Colonel Chris Hadfield’s best work is done. As Canada’s most storied astronaut, Had-field has earned praise for his accomplishments on multiple trips into orbit, including the first space walk by a Canadian. What’s less well-known is that Hadfield is also Canada’s high-est-flying folk singer! I t ’s t r u e : H a d f i e l d o n c e brought a folding guitar to the International Space Station as a gift for a German astronaut. Hadfield used the occasion to strum a few Canadian folk songs high above the surface of the Earth; Gordon Lightfoot, Stan Rogers, and even brother Dave Hadfield’s ode to Canadian Tire are all among the greatest hits of Chris Hadfield, folk-singer in space.

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Of course, what goes up must come down. Even a high flyer like Colonel Hadfield has to come down to Earth. I won-der if he sometimes spends his days gazing out a window at The Johnson Space Center in Houston, dreaming musica l daydreams: “Hear the mighty engines roar, see the silver wing on high…” I hope so. I find the idea rather cheering. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to work. Only four hours left to kill here in the real world, and then it’s on to my dream job, where I save the world with ukuleles. It’s tough to live a double life, of course, but as Alex Sinclair once told me, “real folk singers have day jobs.” And thank goodness we do. Just ask Andrew Sheridan. He’s a member of England’s 2007 World Cup of Rugby con-tender. By day, that is. By night, he’s a folk singer and ballad writer. He loves it, but he’s got his priorities straight. Who can make a living as a folk singer?

HAVE YOU MOVED..?

…or.has.your.contact.information.changed?..Please.take.a.moment.to.send.us.your.new.details,.by.e-mail.(admin@ocff.ca).or.by.

snail.mail.to:.

OCFF508-B Gladstone Avenue

Ottawa, ON K1R 5P1Be.sure.to.include.your.name,.postal.address,.phone.number,.e-mail.address.and.website,.as.well.as.any.business.contact.

information..Thanks.for.helping.us.keep.our.records.straight!

Songs From the Heart 2008…

The OCFF’s Songs From the Heart Songwriter Awards highlight the talents of Ontario songwriters and provide an opportunity for the winners to showcase their work for festival presenters. Each year, one English and one French winner receive a Galaxie Rising Stars of the CBC Award. The English winner for 2008 was Michael Laderoute. A River I Know

SOCAN 2006 All rights reserved

CHORUSThere’s a river I know, we got to all cross overA river I see – it runs mighty, rough and wildThere’ll come a time, when the waves stop rollingAnd we’re all gonna meet that day on the other side

VERSE - 1Friends of mine, have crossed before meSitting warm now, by the holy spirit’s fireTheir troubles gone, and their souls unboundedSinging joyfully, in that heavenly choir

CHORUS

VERSE – 2Sometimes this life, seems so unforgivingAnd troubled waters look deep and wideBut our time here’s brief and hope’s eternalLove is just as strong on the other side

CHORUS x 2

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SO YOU GOT A SHOWCASE? by Lynn Miles

I’d rather have a root canal while being audited than play a showcase. That being said, I play them. It’s one of the best ways for ar tistic directors, promoters, agents, record companies, radio people and hard core fans to see you do your thing, and if you do your thing well, then huge piles of money will arrive at your door dai ly! Ok ay, maybe not, but it could open some wonderful doors, and if nothing else it’s an opportunity to learn something new about your craft. Let’s say you’ve spent your hard-earned money to fly to the “ World Conference of Nor th American Folk Music People” in Enumclaw, Washington. You’re sharing a hotel room with five other people, you haven’t slept in two days, it’s 1:30 am and it’s Showcase Time. 1. Make sure before you buy your plane ticket that you’ve got a list of people you want at your showcase, and then do every-thing in your power to get those people to attend, in a nice way. I have a friend who attended her first NAFA this year. Her goal was to play in Texas. Months before the conference, she con-tacted every artistic director at every venue she wanted to play. Through networking, she got an invite to attend a welcome party for the Texas people, where she talked to some of the people she had connected with on the Internet. Several of those people went to her showcases. She now has several bookings in Texas. Also, before you get on the plane, hook up with the folks

from your town attending the conference. There’s strength in numbers, you might gain some information or insight you didn’t have, and you might find some-one to share a room with (or in some cases eight people to share a room with...). There isn’t much point in spending all the money required to go to a conference if you don’t have a game plan. If you’re just going to have fun, though, cheers! 2. Don’t whine. I f you’ve done your homework and people don’t show up, don’t get mad at them and carry a secret vendet-ta for years. This will not help you get what you want. The only thing you can do in this situa-tion is play the best show you’ve ever played, for the people who are in the room. There may be one person watching you, and that’s your audience, and you must love them and be grateful they showed up. Besides, that one person could be the head of FolkStar Records, and could change your whole career. Also, the vibe you give off from the stage goes out into the hallway and can lure people into the room or chase them screaming down the hall for more booze. If your intention is to play the best show you ever played in your whole life and your music is good, things will happen. 3. Don’t worry about who played before you. I once had to showcase r ight af ter Ani Difranco. Whi le her ador ing audience was leaving the room after the five minute standing ovation, I was stepping onto the stage. That was tough. Tom

Paxton told me that he had to go on after Black Sabbath. I think about that every time there’s a tough act to follow, and by tough act, I mean great musi-cians/singer/songwriters, etc. This year at NAFA, I had to go on after Steve Poltz. He’s the funniest person I’ve ever seen. He runs around the room, sits on people’s laps, etc. After he played it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. The great thing about showcases is that the audience usually changes completely. So I don’t know if the audience that came in to hear me do my thing real-ized that Steve Poltz had taken the air and most of my energy out of the room. I played my set the very best I could, and got a gig out of it. Again, it’s not about who just played, it’s about you playing the very best show you ever played. 4 . M a k e s u re yo u r g e a r works. I ’ve seen people (and have probably done it myself ) who get on stage with a guitar that can’t be tuned or a bad cable. Many t imes, the f i rst couple of songs are what people come to hear, especially if there are lots of other showcases going on. If you have a half a hour to impress, you don’t want to spend the first 15 minutes trying to fig-ure out where that buzz is com-ing from. If the sound is bad, you might have to suck it up. There are no sound checks, so you get what you get and you must make the best of it. If you spend too much time at the beginning of the set getting the monitors just right, you might lose some

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of your audience. Sometimes it’s better just to turn the monitors off if you’re not getting what you want. 5. Play your hits. Play the songs you love to play, songs that people respond to. If you get the gig, then you can play the 20-minute, one -note im-provisational jazz piece you’ve been working on for the last ten years. If you’re funny, be funny. People love funny. Make ‘em laugh. If you’re not so good with talking in between songs, figure

out what you’re going to say be-forehand. Some people just get up there and play. If the music is great, that can be enough. 6. Make sure you follow up with people. If someone you in-vited attends your showcase, get a card, thank them for coming, and then send an e-mail after the conference is over. If you’re lucky enough to have friends in the audience, ask them to be scouts. If you see someone you didn’t think would show up, but did, make contact. Say thank

you, can I give you a copy of my CD? Be bold, in a nice way. Say hi to people. If there’s someone you admire, tell them - they might become a fan. 7. Go watch other perform-ers do their thing. I learn a les-son every time I watch someone play, and it’s good for us to sup-port each other. The most important thing is to be who you are and have fun. Enjoy your time on stage! It took so much work to get there.

NeW.MeMBeRS.SPRING.2009The OCFF welcomes the following new Members who joined us since the last issue of Folk Prints.

New Individual MembersONTARIONorman Ayerst, DundasJay Aymar, TorontoRichard Barry, TorontoDavid Baxter, TorontoCarolyn Bigley, Owen SoundStephanie Braganza, EtobicokeJeff Campbell, OrangevilleMike Celia, MississaugaKarl Comete, OttawaBonnie Couchie, Pic RiverRory Cummings, TorontoJerry Daminato, GuelphAdam Davidson-Harden, KingstonRussell deCarle, JanetvilleShannon Eddy-Smith, OttawaKellylee Evans, AshtonWilliam T. Findlay, ScarboroughAndy Frank, TorontoHertzel Gerstein, HamiltonHoward Gladstone, TorontoJacob Hamayda, BaltimoreMark Hart, TorontoEden Hertzog, TorontoAllie Hughes, TorontoBrent Jones, DorchesterRussell Kelley, OttawaEnoch Kent, TorontoBrian Kobayakawa, TorontoBrea Lawrenson, Carleton PlaceDanielle Lennon, KingstonKimberly Logue, GuelphBrenley MacEachern, TorontoTara and Trevor MacKenzie, Owen Sound

Jordan Mandel, ThornhillDave McEathron, TorontoAndrew McPherson, GuelphLynn Miles, OttawaMaren Molthan and Scott Arena, MerrickvilleShelley O’Brien, TorontoAndrew Queen, MarmoraAndrea Ramolo, TorontoMaddy Rodriguez, TorontoCandace Shaw, PeterboroughJoan Smith, BlackstockMatt Smith, BellevilleMikaila Straatsma, OakvilleEmber Swift, NorlandSara Moody Veldhuis, JarvisMyles Wagman, ThornhillAnne Walker, TorontoRon Weiss, OttawaJosh Zambrowsky, Ottawa

New Organizational MembersBeyond the Pale, TorontoBluegrass Music Association of Central Canada, BurlingtonBusted Flat Records, KitchenerFlying Cloud Folk Club, TorontoSPEAK Music, TorontoStellula Music in Schools, OrilliaThe Funky Mamas, Guelph

New Out-of-Province Individual MembersGerry Barnum, Chemainus, BCRik Barron, St. John’s, NLYvan Bilodeau, Gatineau, QCJacquie Boisvert, Edmonton, ABCarrie Catherine, Saskatoon, SKScott Cook, Sherwood, ABRose Cousins, Halifax, NS

Kat Danser, Edmonton, ABJonathon Davis, Montreal, QCJesse Dymianiw, Edmonton, ABJosée Fréchette, Montreal, QCDave Gunning, Pictou, NSErica Lane, Saint John, NBMatt Masters, Calgary, ABCarmel Mikol, Halifax, NSDavid Myles, Halifax, NSKaren Palmer, Grand Bay, NBValérie Pichon, Gatineau, QCStéphane Poirier, Montreal, QCKate Reid, Vancouver, BCChana Rothman, New York, NYNick Strachan, Wakefield, QCAndré Varin, Gatineau, QCKim Wempe, Halifax, NS

New Out-of-Province Associate Organizational MembersAlberta Music Industry Association, ABMusic PEI, Charlottetown, PE

The OCFF Board of Directors and Staff have been reviewing the requirements for membership in the OCFF. Effective at the beginning of 2009, all out-of-province Organizational Members are classified as “Associate Organizational Members” and are non-voting members. This wil l distinguish them from Ontario-based organizations until a complete review of the membership structure can be completed. This change will bring us in line with the current OCFF Bylaws (8.02.02), which states that organizations must be Ontario-based.

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Don’t leave home without it. Travel with your instrument and your journey will be charmed. But how can you plan tour dates and promo spots with a one-way ticket and no itinerary? Easy…don’t! If you are making a career as a musician, it can be difficult or even feel wasteful to travel abroad with-out lining up work and promotional events along the way. However, if you let your music become a travel companion instead of your voca-tion, you will both be better for it. With a backpack, guitar and a one-way ticket to India, my partner and I embarked on what became a five-month Asia adventure. We had a simple policy of taking the guitar everywhere and playing for anyone who asks. As a result, twelve-hour train rides became extended jam sessions, we were invited to tradi-tional weddings, and at one point, I was playing three shows a week simply because I had played a song for a friendly stranger at the right place and the right time. Wherever we went, we were able to form instant community

with people who wanted to make and hear music, overcoming language and cultural barriers. No press releases, no network-ing and usually no rehearsals. With two days’ notice, we did a show for hundreds of listen-ers as the full moon rose above the Arabian Sea in Goa, with a seven-piece band representing seven different countries. I t may not have been the tightest show, but it was one of the most memorable. In Cambodia, we wanted to volunteer to teach English with the Cambodia Orphan Fund, but when the Director saw the guitar, we were asked to share music with a community where musicians had been targeted and murdered decades earlier in the Khmer Rouge genocide. We sang and wrote songs with children at a local orphanage and created new memories for life. Ten years earlier in Australia, my guitar also led the way. I met so many people after a month of backpacking and singing, that

HAVE GUITAR, WILL TRAVEL by Mark Weinstock

when I planned my first North American tour later that year, many of the performances were set up and hosted by people I had met along those travels. On that tour, a little kid saw my guitar on a bus and asked me to play a song. An impromptu song session and sing-a-long ensued, leading to two more gigs in Washington and Idaho. Now that I am back home, I feel refreshed, inspired and grateful. We had a wonderful trip and without intending to work at all, I am com-ing home having played over thirty shows in four countries, with new songs, an invigorated appreciation for the gift of music and a com-munity of new friends around the world. Play an instrument? Don’t leave home without it.

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We are now soliciting ap-plications for our annual Youth Mentorship Program, which will take place at the 2009 OCFF Conference in Ottawa, ON. The OCFF Youth Advisory Commit-tee has been working together to guide the programming of the Youth Program, including special workshops and collab-orative opportunities. The OCFF Youth Program takes place during the OCFF annual conference, and is a way of incorporating young people into the delegation, as the future generation of music makers, performers, presenters and festival personnel. This pro-fessional development program combines one-on-one interaction with a professional musician, dedicated youth workshops and a youth showcase at the conference. It is an exceptional opportunity for emerging artists

and professionals to develop skills, and also to integrate into the folk and roots music com-munity. T h e O C F F o f f e r s t w o streams within the Youth Men-torship Program, Performance and Festival. The Performance Pro gra m i s g e a re d towa rd s young musicians, whereas the Festival Program offers mentor-ship for youth interested in the various non-per formance as-pects of festival production (i.e. artistic direction, production, stage management, marketing, etc.). We will be accepting five applicants for each stream. The OCFF Youth Program has become a quintessential el-ement of the OCFF conference, and we hope that you are able to help to promote this important init iat ive. Please spread the word to youth in your commu-nity!

2009 OCFF YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM by Erin Barnhardt

“My overall experience of the Youth Mentoring program was fantastic. I’m glad that my first time at the OCFF was as amazing as it was, and I would love to go back. Suzie Vinnick was a per fect match for the mentoring, and I’m glad that we were put together. The show-case itself was incredible. The vibe that was in that room was nothing but positive, and all of the youth were super talented!” - Samantha Schultz, 2008 Youth Program participant If you are interested in ap-plying for the Youth Program or require any further information, please contact the OCFF office at 1-866-292-6233. Complete program details and applica-tion forms can be found on the Conference page of our website, www.ocff.ca. .

A New FeatureOver.the.years,.the.covers.of.Folk Prints.have.featured.a.lot.of.great.photos.. One. of. our. members. recently. suggested. that. we. should.include.some.sort.of.explanation.of.the.cover.photo.in.each.issue,.as.a.lot.of.other.publications.do..She.was.inquiring.specifically.about.the.cover.our.Winter.2009.issue.(pictured.at. left),.so.we.thought.we’d.start.with.that.explanation:.Art.Beat.participants.Sue.and.Dwight.

Peters.performing.at.a.local.Ottawa.school.in.October,.2008..

In.this.issue,.and.all.subsequent.issues,.the.explanation.of.the.cover.photo.can.be.found.in.the.masthead,.under.the.Table.of.Contents.

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......................................Do.you.have.a.story.that.you.want.to.share.with.our.readers?..Is.there.an.issue.that.you.feel.needs.

addressing?..We.welcome.submissions.(500.words.or.fewer).and.photos..While.we.cannot.guarantee.that.all.submissions

will.be.published,.we.will.read.everything.that.is.sent.to.us..Please.send.submissions.in.text.format.only,.and.send.low-res.versions.of.

any.photos.that.you.think.might.be.appropriate.accompanimentsto.your.piece..*If.you.have.an.idea.for.a.longer.piece,.please.contact.

the.office.and.speak.to.the.OCFF’s.executive.Director,.Peter.MacDonald.

Calling All Writers

This spring the OCFF is embark-ing on an exciting initiative, the development of our first Strategic Plan. This project is vital to the OCFF’s future and we need your help. Everyone has their own inter-pretation of strategy. When we use strategy it means high-level guiding principles that will for the next 3 to 5 years help us get where we want to go as an organization. The essential elements of strategic planning include three elements: vision, mission and strategies. Vision defines where an organization wants to go, a destina-tion. Mission is a statement about what an entity does. Strategies are high-level guiding principles that flow through to action. Linked to an organization’s strategies are the products and/or services it deliv-ers, sometimes called operational activities. Let’s consider an example of a guitar manufacturer. This company’s mission could be to manufacture acoustic guitars, while its vision could be to be the preeminent mass market manufacturer of acoustic guitars worldwide by 2012. An inde-pendent luthier might have a similar mission, but have a very different

vision, for example to have the top finger-style guitarists in the world playing her/his instruments. Why does the OCFF need a stra-tegic plan? An old adage provides the answer: If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you’ve arrived? A strategic plan makes it clear what you do (mission) and your destination (vi-sion), while the guiding principles (strategies) translate into action. A strategic plan is a roadmap to get you to your destination and a mechanism to measure your prog-ress. Once a strategic plan is devel-oped the work isn’t over. Next you need to align the organization’s day-to-day activities to its strategies. This could mean changing what is offered, initiating new, or curtail-ing current products or services. Another important component of this post-development work is a periodic strategic plan review which asks if strategic plan change is required. Should the vision, mission or strategies be revised to reflect today’s reality? Finally, when a strategic planning process is mature, undertaking periodic mea-surements of progress against your strategic objectives is important.

We are starting the journey to create an OCFF Strategic Plan and this includes gathering input from OCFF members, employees and the Board. In a membership based service organization like the OCFF, it is critical to get member input. The OCFF membership input will be gathered primarily through a ques-tionnaire that we are asking every OCFF member to complete. In addi-tion to this, we will be interviewing a sample of the OCFF members to gain further insight into the future direction of the OCFF. Your input is absolutely critical to developing a complete and thor-ough OCFF Strategic Plan. Please take the time to complete this questionnaire and return it by the deadline. This is your organization and your chance to be heard.

STRATEGIC PLANNING by Dan Greenwood

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Standing outside a down-town Ottawa hotel on Sunday afternoon, we compared notes one more time and talked about the showcases that left an im-pression on us. We agreed this conference met all our expecta-tions – great music, good people, lots of fun and many good rea-sons to return. Showcase after showcase, meeting after meeting, OCFF provides an important venue for ar t ists, ar t ist ic directors, managers, agents and other industry professionals to gather and exchange ideas for future opportunities. From an agency perspective, attending the last three confer-ences has convinced me that this event offers great value and

opportunity on both the national and international stage. There is much learning and relation-ship-building that takes place in addition to enjoying all the fine music that is everywhere during the weekend. It is an enriching experience from the opening night welcome and performanc-es, morning and afternoon work-shops and educational sessions, to the official and late night private showcases. With participation involving international representatives, ar t ists have benefitted from their showcases, leading to interest and bookings beyond Canada. It is much about be-ing a participant and learning about many other great services provided in support of the in-

dustry. I spent a precious few moments with many different people throughout the weekend, including those wanting to book an artist, an artist looking for representation and a publicist. At conference wrap up, I reviewed my notes and realized I would have lots of work to keep me busy once I returned home. The taxi came and my new fr iends from Germany and I bade each other farewell after at te n d i n g a n o t h e r a m a z i n g weekend at OCFF. I joined my group from Montreal, Austin and British Columbia and we drove up to Wakefield to catch another evening of live music. And so it goes…the journey continues.

AN AGENCY PERSPECTIVEON THE OCFF CONFERENCE by Ted Crouch

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