Here are a few of those initiatives...
Newfoundland
- folk culture from Newfoundland with artists straight from the Rock, including music, spoken word and dance. Tickle Harbour, Felix & Formanger, Ford Elms, Anita Best & Sandy Morris, Christina Smith and Jean Hewson
The Collaboratory
- a project created for the 25th annual festival. Extremely diverse artists from many traditions were invited to learning about each others' traditions by spending a week together creating new music to present at the festival. Audience and artist demand changed this anniversary project into an annual part of the festival.
The Heather Sessions
- programming created to support the release of a CD by local session players in support of public housing in Vancouver's downtown Eastside.
Commissions
- commissioned Vancouver musicians and other artists to create new work for the evening concert stage, including Verdant Stones, Silver, 30 Years in 60 Minutes, the Life & Times of Ginger Goodwin, Tons of Fun University (TOFU) and others.
Music for a New World
- co-sponsor of a project to document the process of trans-cultural collaboration by Vancouver musicians and present their original music at the festival. The final work was presented at the festival, and the film of the project was screened around the world.
Spoken Word
- working with T. Paul Ste. Marie, Ivan Coyote and Shane Koyczan, pioneered in presenting spoken word artists at folk festivals, culminating in the commissioning of Tons of Fun University (T.O.F.U.).
Soulful Sufi Sounds
- working with members of th4e local Ismaili Muslim community, created a program of Sufi song, dance and poetry presented at the festival site and at the and at the Jamatkhan in Burnaby.
Grrrls With Guitars
- annual program at the festival in support of women playing music at the Railway Club in Vancouver.
Participatory Dance
- worked with the Marian Rose Community Dance Project, Naomi Pelzman and the Klezmer Red Hots, the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration and other community groups to introduce folk dancing into the festival.
Face to face
- created a Sunday afternoon session during the Festival where core festival staff and I would listen to what people in the audience to say, responding directly to their questions and concerns.
Other Programming Projects
were developed with...
Utah Phillips and the Rose Tattoo, members of the Burrard, Kwakwaka'wakw, Musqueam and Nishga'a First Nations, Steve Dawson and The Sojourners, The Mighty Popo with Urunana rw'abadatana, the Valley Youth Fiddlers and people from many other communities.
Canadian Festival debut performances
by artists including:
Keola Beamer and his family
Barachois
Beolach
Dan Bern
Eric Bibb
The Dhol Foundation
Dòchas
Danú
Mercan Dede
Liu Fang
Jean Hewson & Christina Smith
Kaki King
Keep It Up
Mihirangi
Najma
Oh Susanna
Oregon
Kelly Joe Phelps
Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali
Shooglenifty
Slainte Mhath
Tanya Tagaq
Tapia eta Leturia
Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir
English-Canadian festival debut performances
by artists from Quebec including:
Les Batinses
Les Crapaudes
Les Charbonniers de L'Enfer
Le Vent du Nord
La Volee D'Castors
Yves Lambert
Lhasa
Marchand-Miron-Ornstein
Norouet
Elders & Mentors
One of the key elements of diversity in festival programming is age. It's important to include young and emerging artists, and it's just as important to include senior artists. I have been proud to work with elders in the music including...
Alberta Slim
Roy Bailey
Kev Carmody
Martin Carthy
Hamza El Din
Willie Dunn
The Grande Mothers
Wavy Gravy
Jamaica to Toronto
Enoch Kent
Yves Lambert
Frank Maher
Dougie MacLean
Geoff Muldaur
New Lost City Ramblers
Odetta
Faith Petric
Utah Phillips
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Peggy Seeger
Mike Seeger
Cedric Smith
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Norma Waterson
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