FILBERG FESTIVAL
Where: Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park, 61 Filberg Rd., Comox
When: Friday, Aug. 2 to Sunday, Aug. 4
Tickets: $26.97 daily at filbergfestival.com; $48.82 for a weekend pass
One of the best bang-for-your-buck festivals on Vancouver Island is celebrating four decades of activity this weekend, with an assembly of roughly 200 musical acts and artisans ready to help the Comox festival celebrate in style.
The three-day Filberg Festival gets underway at 10 a.m. this morning (Friday) at Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park, a nine-acre national historic site bordered on one side by Comox Harbour. The largest juried art show in Western Canada marks its 40th anniversary with an array of craftsmanship from 140 artisans and sounds from nearly 40 musical acts. The Filberg earned its reputation decades ago by showcasing the former, but the latter has become a draw unto itself.
“The line-up this year is all acts that fit the ethos of what the festival is about,” said Dimitri Demers, senior talent buyer for MRG Live, which co-produces the event with Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park Association. “It’s all very timeless music. It’s not a line-up that appeals to just an older crowd or a younger crowd, it appeals to a people-who-like-music crowd.”
Demers, who has been active as an event producer on Vancouver Island for 30 years, endeavoured to create a multi-faceted line-up on par with or better than any previous Filberg edition, out of respect for the legacy of the folksy but very popular multi-faceted festival. “To be able to celebrate 40 years of anything on Vancouver Island is not a small feat.”
He sought to include some artists with little to no prior experience with the festival, in order to keep the artistic offerings fresh. He succeeded in booking two acclaimed Nova Scotians — Halifax’s Joel Plaskett and Dartmouth’s Mo Kenney — for opening night. “I like that Joel Plaskett and Mo Kenny have not performed at the Filberg, as they are a great fit. It may be their first appearances, but hopefully not their last.”
The Grapes of Wrath, originally from Kelowna, was another astute booking. The trio known for late ’80s anthems Peace of Mind, All the Things I Wasn’t, Backward Town, and What Was Going Through My Head does not perform regularly, and will play together for the first time in nearly a year to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its breakout recording, Now and Again. Inuit singer-songwriter Willie Thrasher, Australian singer/songwriter Kim Churchill, and Cowichan Bay’s Blue Moon Marquee are among the other headliners.
Blue Moon Marquee is on a roll at the moment, which should net a sizable crowd in the festival-closing spot on Sunday, Demers said. Scream, Holler & Howl, which was awarded blues album of the year, earned the husband-and-wife team of Jasmine Colette and A.W. Cardinal the first Juno Award of their decorated career in March.
What’s remarkable, ticket prices for 2024 barely increased. Daily admission is up by a mere $1.97, while weekend pass pricing increased just $1.82 over last year. “You get access to a lot for what the price is,” Demers said.
The artisan component is no less varied. A variety of mediums [including fine art, metalwork, pottery, woodwork, jewelry, glass, textiles, and specialty foods] will be on display, and the site gives attendees more than enough space to roam.
“The festival has continued to grow and we are excited to showcases so many loved artisans and musicians, creating a memorable weekend for all in attendance,” Linda Thomas, executive director of the Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park Association said in a statement.
