It’s no secret that Salt Spring’s live music scene has exploded in recent years.
The teeming talent pool keeps expanding, resulting in a healthy appetite for more music and places to hear it played.
That richness has led to the birth of the first Spring Rising Music Festival running Saturday, May 30 on the Farmers’ Institute grounds. We’re all familiar with hearing music from the stage and dancing during the annual Fall Fair. The festival will recreate that vibe and sense of community over an eight-hour period that day.
Jeff Wasiluk has been the institute’s office administrator since last October. When discussions about how to increase revenue for the organization arose, Wasiluk suggested holding a fundraising music festival.
“I just threw it out there at a board meeting and it was received very, very warmly,” Wasiluk said last week as we took a tour of the grounds, which have undergone lots of upgrades and changes in the past two years — from the in-progress pollinator garden to the tractor shed to upgraded septic and much more — and put some pressure on the budget as a result.
Fall Fair committee chair Gail Temmel suggested Wasiluk connect with musician Susanna Braund, who organizes the fair’s two days of music on the grounds stage, and Braund got to work on creating the resulting 10-act roster. It starts off with Jim Raddysh’s always-entertaining kids’ show at noon, with a variety of musical styles unfolding in 30- to 50-minute sets throughout the day and finishing off with the rockin’ Gasoline Alley band. (See full schedule in sidebar.) All performers are donating their time to the cause.
When Wasiluk returned to the board with news of how things were moving ahead, their support kept growing.
“They all started jumping in to help organize and volunteer for certain aspects of the day,” he said.
Food-wise there will be hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, a popcorn machine, sliced watermelon and more, plus beverages. Thrifty Foods and Country Grocer have supported the fundraiser with free gift cards to help defray food costs.
Festival tickets are $30 at the gate and only $22 in advance. Wasiluk encourages people to go for the advance ticket deal since having an idea about attendee numbers will help with food prep planning. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted free.
“I’m really excited at the prospect of this springtime all-day music festival,” said Braund. “It feels like the launch of the summer music season on Salt Spring, which is always an abundance of riches.”
She said the Spring Rising lineup presents a wide range of musical styles and introduces a couple of new bands to an island-wide audience.
“We are immensely grateful to the musicians for volunteering their time and talent, and to all the Farmers’ Institute volunteers. If the event is well supported, it could easily become an annual event.”
This inaugural festival will be a no-alcohol affair, but that may be revisited for future iterations.
Wasiluk notes that with Salt Spring Arts not organizing the Summer Outdoor Concert Series in Centennial Park this year, the Spring Rising festival will help fill a gap for outdoor music lovers.
“It feels good when there’s something like this proposed, and then quickly people start coming together and wanting to make it happen. It’s certainly very Salt Spring, I think, for our community to come together and volunteer in various ways to help make life better in some way — more celebratory — and to help weave community.”
It’s also a manifestation of the Farmers’ Institute board wanting to see the grounds used even more than they have been in the past, which would not only bring in revenue but also facilitate community building.
Wasiluk credits past and present board members and volunteers for all the work they’ve done to help the Farmers’ Institute be such a pivotal part of island life.
“The timing is perfect to continue to evolve, just like it is everywhere on the island and everywhere in the world, one way or the other. Change is coming, so it’s really up to us to decide what some of that change looks like.”
More volunteers to help with the festival would be welcomed. Email Wasiluk at office@ssifi.org for more information.
MUSIC SCHEDULE
12:15 p.m. – Jim Raddysh Kids’ Show
12:50 p.m. – Simon Trevelyan
1:25 p.m. – Kai Barrette
2:10 p.m. – Zhinga
2:55 p.m.- Caroline Dick
3:35 p.m. – Gemsey
4:25 p.m. – The Usual Suspects
5:15 p.m. – Dave Des
6 p.m. – Two Point Oh
7 p.m. – Gasoline Alley