2006 Canadian Music Festivals (35-4)
By Jonathan Lee |
From
the West Coast to the Maritimes, Canada’s summer is jam-packed
with music festivals featuring big name performers from here
and around the world. Join thousands of your fellow RVers at
the event you plan to attend!
June
8 to 18, Les FrancoFolies de Montreal
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Genre: world beat, rock, electronic, hip-hop
Don’t miss the musical behemoth that draws nearly one
thousand artists from a dozen countries to perform at this 18-year-old
celebration of French-language music, Les FrancoFolies De Montreal.
Find out why this festival hosts almost a million music lovers
in the downtown Montreal area for a mixture of musical genres.
Some of the known and emerging ‘big name’ performers
this year include: Loco Locass, Malajube, les Ogres de Barback,
Mononc’Serge, Dominique A, Aut’Chose, Luck Mervil,
Mara Tremblay, Cali, Les Chiens, Thomas Hellman, Saïan
Supa Crew, Prototypes and WD40 just to name a few. With all
of these performers you’ll have some 50 indoor venues
and 150 free outdoor concerts to choose from.
Outdoor kiosks, terraces and roaming performers will pepper
the downtown area, which will be closed off to traffic within
the festival’s boundaries. See this issue’s campground
directory for a list of local RV parks.
(514) 876-8989 www.francofolies.com
July 13 to 16, 14th Annual Merritt
Mountain Music Festival
Location: Merritt, BC
Genre: traditional, classic and groundbreaking country
Hundreds of country music stars will be in Merrit mid-July to
perform at the 14th Annual Merritt Mountain Music Festival.
Be there to catch a performance by Martina McBride, CMA’s
Female Vocalist of the Year in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Maybe
you’ll witness one of McBride’s famous hits like
Independence Day or Wild Angels. It gets even better with likes
of Randy Travis, who has 22 number one hits, and Big and Rich
(who are still on a mission to Save a Horse-Ride a Cowboy),
on hand for concerts.
Parking for RVs is widely available (check the website to locate
the RV designated parking areas) and free if you have a four-day
pass. Keep in mind that no water or sewer hookups are available.
Generators are acceptable, but must be turned off between 2:00AM
and 6:30AM.
(604) 525-3330 www.mountainfest.com
July 21 to 23, 3rd Annual Great
Canadian Barn Dance
Location: Hillspring, Alberta
Genre: bluegrass and country
 A
lot of fun and excitement is in store for bluegrass lovers three
days this July as the 3rd Annual Great Canadian Barn Dance is
back with a stellar lineup of gifted artists.
Popular American bluegrass band Lost Highway will be performing.
Homegrown talent including Down to the Wood, the Tragically
Hick, and the Abrams Family will represent the skill of Canadian
bluegrass musicians. Meanwhile, the Barn Dance Allstar Band
will be the background group for the classic country music sets.
Check out the Great Canadian Barn Dance website to find out
what other bands will be present!
Altogether there are 86 sites at this resort, accompanied by
a 12-acre lake, making the perfect setting in which to enjoy
good times and great music.
(403) 626-3407 www.greatcanadianbarndance.com
August 4 to 6, Fox Mountain Camping
Park’s 3rd Annual Country Music Festival
Location: West of Halifax (approx 80 km) off Hwy 101, Nova Scotia
Genre: country
Experience superb, old and new country melodies of local Nova
Scotia talent set to the backdrop of lush forests during Fox
Mountain Camping Park’s 3rd Annual Country Music Festival,
August 4 to 6. Fresh air and country music is exactly what you’ll
get this summer if you make it to this event.
Joyce Seamone, Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee
and recipient of a Gold Record for her hit song Testing 123,
will soothe your soul with her sweet voice. Ivan Hicks will
also be performing. He’s a New Brunswick Country Music
Hall of Fame and the North America Fiddlers Hall of Fame inductee.
Near Highway 101, the park is equipped with 66 serviced lots
with three-way hookup. Rough camping is also available.
902-847-3747 www.foxmountaincampingpark.com
August 7 to 19, Festival Vancouver
Location: Vancouver, BC
Genre: choral, classical, jazz, opera, world (Viva Italia! theme)
 Two
explosive weeks in mid–August bring with them a not-soon-to-be-forgotten
treat to the senses as more than 500 superlative musicians from
around the world and Canada converge on Vancouver for the Festival
Vancouver.
Stare in awe as you catch performances by Grammy–winning
jazz trumpet master Arturo Sandoval and internationally–acclaimed
sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar.
This year’s theme is the music and musicians of Italy,
particularly the works of musicians from Alba and Torino in
the Piedmont region. How ironic that 2010’s Winter Olympics’
city plays host to performers from where 2006’s Winter
Olympics were held.
(604) 688-1152 www.festivalvancouver.bc.ca
August 10 to 13, Great Woods Music
Festival
Location: 30 mins from Winnipeg, Manitoba
Genre: blues, rock and roots
Take in the gorgeous view of your natural surroundings, all
the while head bobbing to the rhythm of the music at the 11th
Annual indoor/outdoor Great Woods Music Festival this August.
With the striking setting of a 120-acre campground and park
at the banks of the Brokenhead River, music and the RV lifestyle
go hand-in-hand at this superb venue.
Performing artists include Tony Furtado, Diana Braithwaite,
The Peer Gynt Band, Donné Roberts, Tom Principato and
The Ben Waters Band, just to name a few.
Great Woods has more than 200 sites awaiting RVers, some of
which offer full service.
204-268-2814 www.greatwoodspark.com
August 17 to 20, The 17th Annual
Havelock Country Jamboree and Trade Show
Located: Havelock, Ontario
Genre: country
Nominated seven times as one of the Top Five Country Music Festivals
in Canada, the 17th Annual Havelock Country Jamboree returns
August 17 to 20. Complete with well-known country stars, it
promises to be a fantastic four-day, knee-slapping jamboree
that will satisfy your country music hunger.
Nashville stars and Canadian Juno Award Winners will be among
the talented group of musicians, which this year serves up Lonestar,
Charlie Pride, Crystal Gayle, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ian Tyson,
John Anderson, Patricia Conroy, and many more!
Located East of Peterborough, the Havelock Country Jamboree
is just off Highway #7. Plenty of parking spaces will be available
for your RV as there are more than 4,000 campsites to accommodate
visitors.
(705) 778-3353 or (800) 539-3353 www.havelockjamboree.com (Page
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