CARRIE KELLY
Medicine Hat's Tongue on the Post Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary this past January with sweet sounds to keep the winter blues away.
It's obvious a festival is going to be a lot of fun when it officially kicks off with a ceremonial tongue being piped in and hung on a post. Les Pearson, one of the folk music festival's founding members, had the honour of hanging the tongue in 2016 to commence the event.
The festival's playful name was chosen as an homage to the season in which it's held — a decision that has played an important role in the popularity of the event. While it hasn't always been easy to pull off a festival of this magnitude, it has continued to grow in part because the timing filled a void.
When the Tongue on the Post began, it was the first and only winter folk festival in Alberta and was the brainchild of Pearson,
Darla Sawatsky, Betty Aitken and Donna Robinson.
"The original four members sat under the trees at a festival in Canmore in the summer of 2000 and thought you know, we could do something like this," Pearson said.
"There were folk musicians who were anxious to do a winter festival and were available in the winter. We had support from the folk music community all across western Canada."
Laurie Christiansen, executive director of the Medicine Hat Folk Music Club, said the 10th anniversary festival was the biggest one yet. Locals love the Tongue on the Post Festival and it also brings many visitors to the Hat. Special hotel packages are offered to encourage out-of- towners to take in the festival, other arts attractions and experience some of the local restaurants.
"Last year we collected postal codes
from people and it's incredible. We had people from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Montana," Christiansen said.
The festival is as popular with musicians as festival attendees.
"Musicians want to play at our festival and part of that is that it's very intimate and they can get up close to their audience and interact with them. It's a very personal experience. The other part of it is that it's at Medalta. You're surrounded by history."
A national historic site, Medalta offers an ambience and acoustics that can't be replicated anywhere else, with the pottery allowing sound to bounce around beautifully. The kiln sessions are especially popular and memorable, offering a truly unique experience.
It can be difficult to define folk music, but the Tongue on the Post festival features a diverse range of musicians performing in genres including country, jazz, swing and blue grass.
"People are starting to realize that folk music is a little bit of everything. It can even include some soft rock," said Christiansen.
This year’s festival featured headlining performances from The Travelling Mabels, a female country trio who were voted in 2011 as Group of the Year by the ACMA (Association of Country Music in Alberta), as well as the Misery Mountain Boys, an acoustic roots group and Leeroy Stagger, an alternative country singer songwriter from Lethbridge. His most recent album, Dream It All Away, was released in 2015.
But in addition to the seasoned musicians who entertain the crowds, the Tongue on the Post provides opportunities for young singers and original songwriters to get in front of an audience and be heard. A variety of musicians perform each year in cafes and restaurants around the city and Redcliff.
Jack Humeny, who moved to Medicine Hat from Saskatchewan, has performed 20
60
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100