A victory for the Haliburton County Folk Society

By Sue Tiffin

These highlands come alive to the sound of live music, and the Haliburton County Folk Society has been honored for paving the way for the show’s continuity.

The folk society, which has a mandate to promote appreciation and participation in folk music in Haliburton County, received the Setting the Stage award, alongside the Hillside Festival co-winner, as part of the Folk Music Ontario Awards presented last weekend. The Setting the Stage Award, created in 2018, is awarded to a club, venue or festival in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the Canadian live music industry.

“I have to assume that part of that was the fact that we are a very successful, very active and I think very innovative presenter in such a small rural community,” said Folk Society President Thom Lambert. “We all take it for granted, when we’re in the Haliburton Highlands we just assume there’s theater every week, music every week, dance performances four times a year and a sculpture forest and two galleries. flourishing, then you start looking – you don’t have to look very far to find that communities 10 times the size of us don’t host half the number of artistic performances presented in a year.

Lambert said that upon reviewing the nomination, which was written by outgoing president Barrie Martin, the work the folk society does is “quite astonishing for a small county,” presenting at least 25 live performances a year, including a series of annual concerts, winter folklore camp and monthly open stages. The latter, Lambert said, has been an incredibly important part of what folk society does in how events support local musicians with at least half a dozen who started out on the open stage becoming musicians and performers. professional or semi-professional groups. In addition to the performance opportunities, the folk society also supported local musicians with recording grants, CD production and sales, sound equipment loan and rental, and professional development. Lambert also said it was “encouraging” to see the list of organizations and partnerships that the folk society has created to help bring live music to events through initiatives that include performances, funding or equipment. sound system and technical support.

The Haliburton County Folk Society has been working since 1996 to build a local music community, and Lambert has recognized those who have and are doing this work.

“There was a time when it was very, very difficult for popular society to maintain itself, to keep its head above water, and these people never gave up,” he said. “Some of these people have been hooking up for 20 years now, since the beginning of folk society, and I really have to give it to these people, they had a vision for live music in this community and really never gave in. high.”

Lambert also noted the crucial financial support the folk society receives from Canadian Heritage, which he says allows the group to be creative in terms of the music they present in the county, and also to keep the ticket prices up to date. reasonably priced in a rural community. .

Despite the challenges of physical distancing and crowd restrictions during the pandemic, folk society has adapted to continue to promote opportunities and bring artists and audiences together by hosting live online concerts that viewers have enjoyed. access to the house during the provincial lockdown; create the Music Education Grant program to support the music community during a difficult time and move open stage events to an outdoor location at Haliburton Highlands Brewing during the warmer months.

The Folk Music Ontario Awards, typically announced each year at the Folk Music Ontario conference, were presented in an online ceremony on October 23, bringing together the restrictions currently in place.

For more information on the Haliburton County Folk Society, visit: haliburtonfolk.com.