RED ROCK – Live From the Rock Folk Festival was a massive hit once again.
Elly Tose, artistic director for the event, said the turnout was great this year.
“It started off with some rain, unfortunately, but we have a pretty hardy group of people that come to the festival. They stuck it out through the rain, Friday and Saturday. (Sunday was) a beautiful sunny day and it's just been wonderful,” she said.
Lots of people bought tickets in advance, Tose said.
“Because they made the commitment to be here, they packed their warm clothes and they packed their rain gear. They came into the campgrounds on Thursday night and I would say pretty much everybody stayed for the whole weekend.”
Tose said they sold 520 weekend passes in advance.
“I don't know how many came through the gate and sometimes people will just come for the day because we do sell day passes.
“So, I don't know the final numbers yet, but we know at least 500 people who are here for sure every day,” she said.
Tose said it was wonderful to see the support from the community.
“It's the whole community that we do it for. The musicians are part of that community, the volunteers are part of that community and the sponsors, but the people that come to see all of this taking place, that's what it's for.
“It's to see the joy on their faces and the kids dancing and people meeting new people that they just sit down beside and become friends. We have people who've been coming back here to see what they call their ‘away family,’ because they came to the first festival and they've been coming every year to meet those people again.”
Sometimes people think of folk music as traditional Irish music, Tose said.
“It's not just that. We did have that, but we also had a blues band here, we had a lot of singer songwriters. We had a fantastic trio who sing incredible three-part harmony.
“We've had a little bit of everything,” she said.
Tose said there were many other things going on for people to check out.
“We have an artisan village this year with 18 different artisans. It's all handmade. That's just a whole separate village of people selling their wares.
“We also have food vendors and they're all local. It's great to have that support of the local economy. We have a children's area. They do face painting and all kinds of games all during the weekend.”
Ian Tamblyn performed at the festival and it was not his first time.
“I grew up in Thunder Bay. This is a kind of a spiritual place for me, particularly the north shore of Superior. It's good to remember where you come from, you never really leave,” he said.
The crowd loved Tamblyn’s performance, which made him feel very grateful.
“It warms my heart. It means a lot to me,” he said.
