Peterborough Folk Festival

Join us from noon – 5pm in Millennium Park, 130 King Street, Peterborough, for an afternoon of free workshops and community conversation!
All materials provided free-of-charge, but if you’re participating in a music workshop, please try to bring your own instrument (large waterjugs make great hand-drums).

Do you find that your toes are tapping and your heart is pounding and everything you see up on stage looks like so much fun that you want to try to? Do you want to connect with other members of the community who have similar interests, and do something creative with your neighbours? We’ve got plenty of opportunities to scratch that itch – red on to find the workshop that works for you!

12pm – 2pm Stitchers’ Circle
Join fellow crafters for an afternoon of knitting, crochet, embroidery, spinning, quilting, or any other portable craft.  Sunshine, fellowship, and inspiration!

12pm   Learn To Crochet
Join Alissa Paxton as she teaches the basics of crochet.

12pm Hand-Drumming with Greg Roy
Bring your hand drum for a fun introduction to different rhythms and styles.

1pm Instant Choir Singalong
Join Curtis Driedger as he leads a singalong – open to everyone!

2pm – 4pm #thinkPtbo Tweeters Meetup
Bring your Twitter-accessing device and join host Michael van der Herberg at a Tweetup – meet the prolific local community that’s building up, and reflect on our city and community via thoughtful questions and interesting discussion.

2pm Hawaiian Dance
Join Janelle for a beginner’s introduction to Hawaiian dance – better know as Hula Dance, a complex artform in which hand motions are used to represent words, stories and prayers.

3pm Songwriting Workshop
You’ve started songwriting, but you need an honest, experienced musician to give you pointers on song structure, lyrics, and taking your songs from simply okay to great – this is the place! Host TBA.

4pm Square Dance
Whether your a beginner or own your own wardrobe of outfits, please join The Dough See D’Oh Boyz for an hour of fun!

Join us 11am – 11pm in Nicholls Oval Park, 725 Armour Road, Peterborough Ontari-ari-ari-oh!

A beautiful heritage park on the river, under the shade of 80-year-old maple trees is the setting for the second day of the PFF.  Long the heart of the festival, this day-long celebration is a place to meet your neighbours, to reconnect with old friends, taste new food, hear new music, and try new skills.

The music, workshops, and festival activities are free, but remember to bring some pocket money for our incredible juried local food, beer, and artisan vendors, who pour their talent into their work and bringbeautiful, clever, and amazing things to our festival.

Would you like to help make the festival even better? Consider volunteering your time – we have plenty of roles for those willing to lend a hand, and the commitment is light – you can sign up here.

The Artisan Village

Over 40 juried vendors will be on hand with hand-crafted artisan goods, everything from fine art to local honey and beautiful jewelry.  Visit the Artisan Village page for more information.

The Children’s Activity Village

Open from noon – 5pm, The Children’s Activity Village is a beloved part of the festival, keeping little ones active and happy throughout the day.  Crafts, activities, and lots of opportunities to learn and play – and of course, our famous Noise Parade lead by our good friend Washboard Hank! Check out the Children’s Village page for more details.

The Publican Pavilion Stage

With your host, Washboard Hank!

11am      The Avenues
12 pm    Washboard Hank
1pm        The Kindness Killers
2pm        Sheesham and Lotus
3pm        The Express and Co.

The Generation Solar Stage

12 pm     The Melomaniacs
1pm         D’Oh See Doughboys
2pm         Sarah Loucks
3pm         Michael Morritt

The Active Learning Stage

All workshops are free, but space may be limited.  If you can, please bring your own yoga mat or hand drum.

12pm   Morning Yoga
with Tegan Moss
1pm      Medieval Fighting Demonstration
with the Society for Creative Anachronism
2pm      Hula Hooping
with Basia Baklinski
3pm      Belly Dance with
Janel Jarvis
4pm      Hand Drumming
with Greg Roy

The Crafter’s Stage

All workshops and materials are free, but space may be limited.

12pm    Learn to Knit
Join expert knitter Bridget of lovely local yarn shop Needles in the Hay as she teaches the basics of knitting and gets you started! http://www.needlesinthehay.ca/
1pm    Needle Felting
Join Martha Comfort and Jan Stirling as they get you started on the fun and creative art of needle felting
2pm     Hand-paint Tree-Ring Coasters
Beth Stanley supplies you with the tools, guidance and inspiration to make your own unique tree-ring coasters!
3pm    Seed Saving
Jillian Bishop teaches you how to save seeds, and talks about the importance of preserving and growing heritage seeds.  http://urbantomato.blogspot.com/

The Festival Stage

With your hosts, Sheesham and Lotus!

4pm      Kate Le Deuce
5pm      Melissa Payne
6pm      Acres and Acres
7pm      Aline Morales
8pm      The Unsettlers
9pm      Ukrainia
10pm    Mike Essoudry’s Mashed Potato Mashers
Mainstage Hosts:    Sheesham and Lotus

2011 has been a landmark year for Brazilian-born singer/percussionist/composer Aline Morales. The launch of her debut solo album Flores, Tambores e Amores was met with widespread critical acclaim. David Dacks writes in the Grid, “Simply put, Aline Morales’ self-released Flores, Tambores e Amores may be the finest Brazilian album ever produced in Canada.”  An ambitious and eclectic record, Flores defies easy classification.  While rooted in classic Brazilian song styles, such as samba, forró, Northeastern folk music and 1960’s Tropicalia, Flores inhabits its own unique musical world, where traces of Italian film scores, African sounds, avant garde poetry and vintage synths ebb and flow throughout.

Flores represents a departure for Aline, whose previous projects have been centred around traditional Brazilian drumming. Born and raised in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Aline began her performing career as a child training in capoeira, and by the time she reached her 20′s, she had performed in a variety of traditional and modern bands including one of Brazil’s most well-known maracatu groups, Nacao Estrela Brilhante do Recife led by Mestre Walter de Franca.  Since her arrival in Toronto, Canada in 2003, she has been a tireless promoter of the traditional maracatu rhythms of Northeastern Brazil, performing with her 30-member percussion troupe, Baque de Bamba, at countless outdoor festivals, leading parades through Kensington Market in Toronto and even starring in Ontario Tourism’s “There’s No Place Like This” commercials.

Drawing now from a wider range of influences, Flores, Tambores e Amores finds Morales in a stage of musical exploration. Gone is the wall of percussion, replaced instead by lush, eclectic arrangements, which seamlessly blend traditional and modern instruments. At home in her new role as solo artist, Morales “shines with mature confidence amid [producer] David Arcus’ outstanding orchestrations.” (David Dacks, the Grid)

You can catch Aline performing music from her new album with an all-star band composed of some of the most sought-after musicians in Toronto’s Brazilian music scene.

You can learn more about Aline Morales by visiting her website.

Friday August 26, 8pm, The Market Hall, Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

Buy tickets online on the theatre’s website

Funny and upbeat, with just a pinch of sass, the Good Lovelies’ textbook three-part harmonies, constant instrument swapping and witty on-stage banter have enlivened the folk music landscape since they joined forces in 2006 for their first show at Toronto’s funky Gladstone Hotel.

How the Good Lovelies (Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore) got together is a bit of a mystery: Sue remembers meeting her band mates during a limbo competition, Caroline thinks they met at a chess tournament, but Kerri is convinced they first crossed paths during a bar fight… Whatever the story may be, the ladies immediately realized they had something special, so they hit the road on a mission to charm Canadian audiences coast to coast.

Their tireless rain or shine outlook and undeniable mutual respect have helped the trio weather years of constant touring. With jaunts to Australia, the UK and the US in their 2011 schedule, the Good Lovelies’ road-tested tenacity will bring them further afield than ever before.

Lighthearted songwriting and irresistibly buoyant dispositions have made them the darlings of the summer festival circuit, including spots at the storied Mariposa and Hillside Festivals and the Montreal Jazz Festival. They have toured with Stuart McLean and the Vinyl CafÈ and appeared on stages and in studios with Broken Social Scene, Kathleen Edwards and Jill Barber.

In addition to their acclaimed holiday album, “Under the Mistletoe” (2009), which showcases old and new seasonal tunes (including three original songs), the Good Lovelies’ self-titled full-length album (also released in 2009) proved their blithe brand of folk music has year-round appeal. With this record, the Good Lovelies won New Emerging Artist at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. In 2010, this same album received a Juno for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year.

“Let the Rain Fall”, their third full-length album, is an ode to camaraderie. With equal parts city and country, highway and home, wistfulness and sass, the Good Lovelies’ good humour and self-assurance shines through from the toe-tapping start of “Made for Rain” to the sweet final notes in the French-flecked “Mrs. T.” In between, youíll hear reflections on urban imperfections with “Backyard”, straight-up love songs like “Best I Know” and upbeat numbers like “Kiss Me in the Kitchen.”

The album, like the Good Lovelies, has a universal appeal, sure to please not just their fellow Canadians, but those south of the border and across the pond too.

“Let The Rain Fall,” say the Good Lovelies, confident that bright and breezy days lie ahead.