** CANCELLED ** The Snow Moon Festival - theHumm January 2022

** CANCELLED ** The Snow Moon Festival - theHumm January 2022

By Kris Riendeau

From the organizers of the Snow Moon Festival: "Unfortunately, after much discussion, we've made the difficult decision to postpone the festival to (February 4) 2023."

One thing is certain in these uncertain times — creativity is alive and flourishing in our area! Local venues have expanded patios, poured out into parking spaces, and even used hula hoops to socially-distance audience members keen to keep on experiencing the joys of live performances. Now that winter is upon us, the inventive folks at Wintergreen Studios wintergreenstudios.com up in South Frontenac are thinking outside the box — and into the fire ring — for their upcoming Snow Moon Festival scheduled for February 12. This outdoor celebration of winter, the natural world, music and friendship sounded completely intriguing, so we contacted musician and co-organizer Gary Rasberry to find out more.

theHumm: Before we get to the details about who, where and when, can you tell me a bit about the why? I’m curious to know how the concept for this event first sprang into being.

Gary Rasberry: As important as the “Why” question is, we began with the “Why not?” question. And while this may seem like a less pragmatic way to approach an idea or a project, it has its own logic. “Why not” involves a leap of sorts — a certain amount of daring, of challenge, and a willingness to entertain what might be possible.

In the case of the Snow Moon Festival, it was an idea born out of pandemic fatigue, and hatched, not surprisingly, over coffee during a break at a Wintergreen work bee around a year ago. At the time, our pandemic reality consisted mainly of post-lockdown “bubbles.” The bubble concept at the time involved people spending time within a group that could include family, and a fluctuating number of others, as dictated by whatever Covid restrictions were in place at that particular time.

We knew from our own experience that people were hungry for those things that had given their pre-pandemic lives both mooring and meaning — and pleasure. Live music, lively conversation, and sharing meals were the three things we wanted to include. It had become clear at the time that outdoor gatherings were deemed safer than indoor gatherings, and, as a result, people were (re)turning to outdoor activities in ways they hadn’t previously considered.

So why not create a live outdoor music festival that offered folks a unique opportunity that included both mooring and meaning? Why not embrace the various pandemic constraints and limitations, and work within the framework of the government-mandated health and safety directives to purposefully create an event that was first and foremost safe, but just as important, festive, fun and meaningful? As a small group, sitting socially-distanced over coffee at Wintergreen Studios that day, our thought was “Why not?”

We began to imagine an outdoor festival, where the audience would be happily bubbled. This led to creating a physical set-up built around a number of “fire rings”. Essentially, each bubble of people would have their own campfire located in a picturesque meadow. In addition, there would be a central fire ring and a stage for live music. The food menu would feature items that required minimum handling, with disposable paper wrappers thrown into the fire.

What kinds of experiences — musical and otherwise — await people who attend this unique festival?

Our hope for the Snow Moon Festival is, first and foremost, to offer people opportunities to safely enjoy great live music, good company, as well as time in a beautiful natural setting.

The festival honours the quiet grace and beauty of the land we walk and acknowledges the Indigenous peoples who nurtured this place before us, and also those who will continue to do so after we are gone. An Elder will open and close the festival, and we will offer a variety of dishes, including Indigenous cuisine.

While it could well be cold outdoors in February, we will keep the fires going, and with delicious food, warm company (as well as blankets — this is a BYOBlanket event) and amazing music, we expect everyone will feel warm, inside and out. For those who need to get up to stretch their legs and get their heartrates up a bit, we offer hundreds of acres with clearly marked trails for an afternoon hike, before returning to the music and fires.

What do you and the other organizers hope people take away from their time at this event?

Most of us know that we will be talking about the pandemic for the rest of our lives. Much of this talk, 5, 10, 20, or even 30 years from now, will come in the form of stories. Our hope is to offer people an opportunity to create their own unique stories, based on memorable moments, that they will still be telling long after the pandemic has receded. And a deepened connection with the land too.

Now for the musical nuts and bolts. Can you tell me a bit about the performers?

In keeping with health and safety, we have chosen to create a musical line-up that features local musicians, and there is a rich well from which to draw upon. In addition, we looked to musicians who are “friends of Wintergreen”, and as such have performed at past events dating back even to pre-Wintergreen days.

Triola is a string trio that has performed regularly at evening concerts and special events for Wintergreen, dating back to 2011. Fireweed (whose tagline is “A little like CSN, a lot less famous) is a contemporary acoustic trio that has performed at Wintergreen before it was Wintergreen, at an annual event called the Paddy’s Lake Full Moon Festival circa 1999. Last, and certainly not least, Teilhard Frost, aka Sheesham Crow, is a masterful old-time Appalachian fiddle and banjo player, living on Wolfe Island, who has also been a part of Wintergreen events for many years. And, of course, there will be a Snow Moon Festival finale, featuring all the musicians taking part in the event.

The Snow Moon Festival is scheduled for Saturday, February 12. Find more details and registration information at wintergreenstudios.com/events/snow-moon . In case of inclement weather (white out, blizzard), it will take place on February 19. Covid-19 protocols will be in place on the festival site, and all attendees, volunteers and musicians will need to show proof of full vaccination.