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Making friends in Ancaster

By Jamie Tennant

On Friday, August 5, the Festival of Friends will host what may become the biggest concert this city has ever seen. The artist is huge – City & Colour, a.k.a. songwriter Dallas Green, whose new album went to number one in Canada – and it’s his only Ontario stop all summer long. On top of that, the concert is free, and the venue can host an enormous number of people.

Oh, but wait, there’s that elephant in the room again. The venue.

When the Festival announced it would be leaving its ancestral home in Gage Park for a new location at the Ancaster Fairgrounds, there was an incredible public outcry. Some lamented the loss of a high-profile event in our downtown. Others were certain it was somehow a cash grab. Ultimately, though, Festival Director Loren Lieberman and his board of directors remain confident it was the best choice given the circumstances. (Note: it would be disingenuous for the author not to admit his connection with said Board, so you can choose your sides – ‘author knows what he’s talking about’ or ‘author has vested interest” – with some element of clarity).

“There’s a multitude of reasons for the relocation,” says Lieberman. “Issues with the park, issues with the neighbourhood, issues related to growth. We had to move the Festival or redesign the Festival and shrink it. That’s the easiest answer, but that goes against everyone’s principle – and not even just business. To try and do less, I find to be offensive.”

There’s no doubt City & Colour would have been too big for Gage Park (2009’s Finger Eleven show saw the park bursting at the seams). Beyond that, however, Lieberman sticks by his claim that the Festival mandate is to entertain, for free, as many people as possible – and the move to Ancaster facilitates that. In a way, he even sees some of the negativity over the move as a positive thing.

“If you care enough to punch me in the face, then okay,” he says. “I think the worst thing would be to announce that we’re changing our venue and there’s no reaction. That would be terrible.”

“For every punch in the head I get walking on James St. North, I might get high fives walking in Lime Ridge Mall,” he adds. For Lieberman, it’s about getting people to come to the festival – whether they’re from downtown or the mountain, Guelph or Brantford, Toronto or Oshawa, or farther (one woman from the Netherlands plans to attend to see Jon Anderson of Yes on Sunday evening).

“The Festival can’t be myopic” Lieberman says, “It’s not just a neighbourhood festival.”

There are disadvantages to the relocation-including transportation. However, there will be free shuttle busses available, the details of which will be posted on the FoF website. Then again, there are inarguable advantages, too. Weather, for example, will no longer ruin a day and cause vendors and artisans to lose sales. There is plenty happening indoors – including two stages, and vendors both inside and out.

“We’re not making it an indoor festival,” says Lieberman, “but I think it’s significant that if suddenly it [the weather] becomes shitty, ride it out and take in some of the other attractions.”

The Festival will also feature a Children’s Pavilion, with a children’s stage, a renewed focus on artisan and craftsman vendors, and a few new programs such as the “Spectacle” stage, which apes on Elvis Costello’s program of the same name. Then, of course, there’s the music – City & Colour (Friday), The Tea Party & Arkells (Saturday), America and Jon Anderson (Sunday), and many other local artists through the Fairgrounds throughout the weekend.

Ultimately, though the location of the Festival has changed, not much else about it has changed. One thing that will never change, says Lieberman, is that the festival will forever remain free.

“We forget this as Hamiltonians – there is something serious for free in this community,” he says. “That’s not standard in Toronto or Buffalo. Free summer entertainment is a Hamilton concept, and we’re very lucky to have that.”

JAMIE TENNANT is the Program Director at 93.3 CFMU FM, the campus-based community station at McMaster University.

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