The Ottawa
Grassroots Festival, a small volunteer-run, family-oriented springtime folk
festival spearheaded by Bob Nesbitt,
returns Thursday-Sunday April 23-26 for its fourth year. It takes place at the Montgomery
Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, 330 Kent Street in Ottawa. There are
ticketed concerts Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and all kinds of free
events Saturday and Sunday during the day.
Tickets for the evening concerts are $20 (Thursday),
$25 (Friday or Saturday) – or $45 for a three-night festival pass.
The Thursday evening concert will be MCed
by Alexandre Maheux and features Franco-Ontario
performers Sarah Bradley, Eric Dubeau and Stef Paquette.
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| Old Man Luedecke |
The Friday evening concert will be MCed by Tonya Price and begins with a short
performance by The Sparrows, a
children’s choir directed by Chris White,
followed by feature-length sets by Shawna
Caspi and Old Man Luedecke.
The Saturday evening concert will be MCed
by Arthur McGregor and begins with Max Cossette singing “The Grassroots
Festival Song,” followed by feature-length sets by Lyndell Montgomery & Terry Gillespie and Connie Kaldor.
The Saturday and Sunday daytime events
include workshops, kids’ activities and concerts, performances, choirs, jam
sessions, open stages and much more.
A daytime event that I’m
particularly looking forward to is a song circle that I’ll be hosting with
Connie Kaldor, Old Man Luedecke, Shawna
Caspi and Terry Gillespie. That’s on Saturday from 2-3:30 pm on the second
floor Grass Stage.
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| Connie Kaldor |
Visit ottawagrassrootsfestival.com for all
the details including the full schedule and information on all of the
performers, or to order tickets (also on sale at the Ottawa Folklore Centre and
Compact Music).
Should be a great weekend.
Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif
And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif
And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif
--Mike
Regenstreif
