Music plays an important role in Island life.
Whether it’s tapping along to Celtic tunes at a ceilidh or rocking out with tens of thousands of country music fans in Cavendish, the Island has something for every musical preference.
While big festivals like the Cavendish Beach Music Festival continue to grow in size and scope, smaller Island festivals are also making their mark.
Cloggeroo – the Island’s Folk Festival, which takes place each August in Georgetown, celebrates its fifth anniversary this summer, and a fundraiser for the event kicks off this weekend.
Danielle Rochon, a member of the Cloggeroo board of directors and one of the festival’s founders, said that along with the help of the tireless volunteers, fundraising events are necessary to help execute the festival and to ensure all artists are fairly compensated.
This year’s fundraising event takes place on March 17 at Copper Bottom Brewing in Montague, with music by The Rubber Boot Band.
Rochon said the first year’s crowd consisted primarily of family and friends.
“In the first year I felt like I knew everyone there,” she said. “I remember the second year going, ‘oh my God, there are strangers here. The public knows about it’. From there, it started growing.”
The festival, taking place Aug. 10-12, will be a balance of both Island and non-Island artists playing a variety of tunes, with something for everyone to enjoy. There will be camping available as well.
“We try to have a blend of genres, something for everyone,” Rochon said. “It’s a folk festival at core, but folk music means so much. It’s not always just one guy with a guitar.”
Millvale resident Allison Cooke, who has gone to music festivals throughout the Atlantic provinces, has been attending Cloggeroo since its inception, and this year she decided to take on a bigger volunteering role.
“I have been watching it grow into something beautiful. This is an incredible festival on the waterfront of a beautiful community in eastern P.E.I.,” she said. “Tourists, as well as Islanders, arrive and are immediately surrounded by the beauty of P.E.I., incredibly talented musicians and artists, delicious local food vendors and, most of all, the people.”
Saturday’s fundraising event, which is for those 19 and over, starts at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $15 at the door.
Early bird tickets for Cloggeroo will be on sale during the lineup release party in May.
For more information, visit Cloggeroo.com.
