Organizers behind the Stan Rogers Folk Festival say they’ve put last year’s heartbreaking cancellation behind them and are ready for this year’s event.
In 2014, a tropical storm forced organizers to cancel the three day event the day before it was scheduled to begin.
“How do you invite three, 4,000 campers into the path of a hurricane?” says festival director Troy Greencorn.
Stanfest brings millions of dollars in economic benefit, with more than 50 artists on stage over the weekend, performing for more than 12,000 music fans. The event’s cancellation was devastating to the surrounding communities and there was fear that would be the end of the festival.
“And what's happened over the year since, out of something horrible has come an amazing amount of good things,” says Greencorn.
Twenty major festivals across the country have contributed, to make sure that Stanfest will be back.
Last year's ticket buyers were asked to consider donating a ticket back, or trading it in for a ticket this summer.
“About 70 per cent of our audience did one or the other instead of a refund, so really our audience reinvested,” says Greencorn.
As well, many of the musical acts that were forced to cancel last year were among the first to line-up for this year's festival.
Dave Gunning has been a perennial performer at Stanfest for more than a decade.
After what happened last year, he believes no one will be taking this year’s festival for granted.
“I'll be there. If I have to take, if doo-dah has to take me on the fishing boat, I'll be there,” says Gunning.
Greencorn says the support is inspiring.
“You know, the whole country has given us a hug and said, all right, get 'er done,” says Greencorn. “The brand has kind of written itself, you know, the ‘rise again’ brand. So, when people see our branding for this year, ‘rise again’ will figure prominently for sure.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
