Ottawa Folklore Centre benefit concert – July 31

For almost four decades, the Ottawa Folklore Centre, a modest folk-rooted and folk-branched music, musical instrument, and music instruction emporium run by Arthur McGregor has been at the heart and soul of Ottawa’s folk music scene.

The past year, though, as Arthur explained to Ottawa Citizen music critic Lynn Saxberg, has been tough and the Folklore Centre, which has helped so many professional and amateur musicians over the years needs some help.

So Borealis Records, the Canadian folk music record label, has organized a benefit concert for Thursday, July 31, 7:30 pm, featuring some of the finest folk artists in the area: Lynn Miles, Sneezy Waters, James Keelaghan, Terry Tufts & Kathryn Briggs, and Finest Kind with James Stephens.

Originally scheduled to take place at the Sunnyside Wesleyan Church, Folks for the Folklore Centre has been moved to the larger Southminster United Church just down Bank Street from the Folklore Centre at the corner of Aylmer.

It promises to be one of the great folk music events of the year in Ottawa.

Arthur McGregor performing at the 2013 Ottawa Folk Festival.

Tickets are $25 and are available in person at the Folklore Centre (1111 Bank Street), by phone at 613-730-2887 or online at this link.

I wish I could be there but I’ll be out of town that night. So I’m going to show my support by buying a couple of virtual tickets at this link.

Supporting the Ottawa Folklore Centre is a most worthy cause for folk music lovers.

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--Mike Regenstreif

Update on Ottawa Folk Festival

Lynn Saxberg of the Ottawa Citizen has filed a report on the latest developments in the Ottawa Bluesfest takeover of the Ottawa Folk Festival.

Folk festival artistic director Dylan Griffith is gone (after just one year), the folk festival office has moved into Bluesfest’s digs, the folk festival board is now dominated by Bluesfest board members and the booking is being done by Bluesfest director Mark Monahan. The folk festival dates have been moved to August 26 to 28 and it’s almost certain that the location will be moved to a more central location than Britannia Park.

Monahan and his team obviously know how to put on the big concerts that have come to dominate the evening concerts at folk festivals. I remain optimistic that he’ll maintain and develop the creative daytime workshop programming that I believe is the heart and soul of great folk festivals.

Pictured: Mike Regenstreif, Nora Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson and Jimmy LaFave talking about Woody Guthrie at the 2007 Ottawa Folk Festival.

--Mike Regenstreif