The Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival is back at Kelso Beach at Nawash Park for the 51st time this weekend.
More than 40 artists will perform this year from August 21 to 23, including many local acts.
The unofficial opening of the festival, called Coming Home, is free to attend on August 20. It will showcase many new, young talents from around the area at Nawash Park. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the first performer takes the stage at 7:30 p.m.
On August 21, music starts at about 5 p.m., with Union Duke headlining that evening.
Workshops begin August 22 at 11 a.m., with music running all day and concluding with a performance by Dan Mangan.
“My favourite part of the festival is the daytime program,” says artistic director James Keelaghan. “Where we do what are called workshops, where we pick two or three acts and put them on stage for an hour and a half, give them a common theme and let the performers run with it and figure out what they are going to do on stage. It’s always amazing what comes out of those sessions.”
August 23 continues with workshops starting at 10:30 a.m. and music at noon. The final act of the festival will be Julian Taylor.
“Whenever we do audience surveys after the festival and we ask what they liked and what they want,” says Keelaghan, “what they want more than anything else every time is they want to come here and discover an act they never heard before. It is one of the most amazing things about our audience is that they’re here to be surprised.”