It has been said that music is the language of the spirit, and where words fail, music speaks.
These are words that those who have been attendees of the Islands Folk Festival over the years can attest to, as the annual event that unites people through the love of music gets ready to celebrate four fabulous decades.
READ MORE: Islands Folk Festival back in full swing in Cowichan for 39th year
“Forty is a significant number and the Cowichan Folk Guild is both proud and humbled to find ourselves one of the longest lived presenters of live music in the Cowichan Valley,” said Artistic Director Jack Connolly. “Our association with Providence Farm is unique because while we have held 39 festivals at this location, in that beautiful setting, the farm itself is a therapeutic community year-round and there is an incredible feeling of love on the land. We are so grateful for the community support which has powered us for all of these years. When I think about the countless hours of volunteer time that has been invested in our festival and events each year I am so honoured to count myself as one of them and to get to serve them in this capacity.”
To mark this milestone both amateur and professional artists of all ages are being called to submit their artwork to have it appear on the festival’s promotional material such as posters, rack cards and t-shirts for their 40th anniversary. All design submissions will be accepted until Nov. 15. The selected artist will not only have the honour of having their artwork appear on festival schwag, they will also receive a $500 cash prize for their winning work, with the opportunity to be consulted on the application of their creation. Aspiring artists can submit their design to admin@cowichanfolkguild.ca
“We hope that this opportunity will give all who participate the feeling of being part of something long running and important in our community,” said Connolly. “We hope to share all of the contributions with the community and perhaps there is a way to feature all of the appropriate submissions in a collectable way.”
The Islands Folk Festival was originally created as a fundraiser for Providence Farm and as a way to bring interesting music to the Cowichan Valley. It started off as a one-day event in 1985, through musicians who wanted to follow the lead of the Vancouver Folk Festival. This led to the inception of the Cowichan Folk Guild which produced the next 38 festival and a myriad of other music events to date. The Islands Folk Festival has not only seen astounding success since, but has created a true sense of community engaging more than 350 volunteers each year. The event now showcases a plethora of performers on multiple stages, complimented by various vendors.
“The definition of folk music that we like to use is music of the people for the people,” said Connolly. “What this means is that far from being just guys with guitars, folk music encompasses world music of all kinds. We would like to expose the people here to a broad range of musical experiences — all excellent and mostly things you’d be hard pressed to experience elsewhere, at least. We would like to make a huge contribution to fostering community in the Cowichan Valley.”
One of the original founders Deb Maike, who has since recruited both her children and grandchildren and is still involved today, says that the intent of Islands Folk Festival was to be a stepping stone for artists, as well as a space for them to hone and share their talent. As the Cowichan Folk Guild looks back on the past 39 years, and to the future of folk in the community they are excited by what lies ahead.
“One of the things that has become clear as we have been reflecting on the Islands Folk Festival this fall in preparation for our 40th year, is that we have always been a community festival,” said Connolly. “To us that means that we focus on the overall experience of our festival goers. We bring in amazing music from around the world but we tend not to try to bring in household names or too many famous acts. We focus on the music that is about to break and who has been producing great work over time. We want families, older people, young people, kids and musicians to come together reaffirming and remaking that community every year. Many people who attend our festival and even first timers speak about the experience of feeling like these familiar faces are like a festival family.”