The only thing smaller at the 13th annual Robson Valley Music Festival may be its carbon footprint.
Coordinator Shara Gustafson said the festival wants to go net zero starting with their seven food vendors, who will be providing reusable cutlery and dishware this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a small undertaking,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll of the vendors will have wash stations so they can recycle their dishes, and we鈥檙e encouraging people to bring reusable water containers.鈥�
The festival runs Aug. 11-13 in Dunster, B.C., 140 kilometres west of Jasper. Tickets are available now online; old-fashioned paper tickets are expected to arrive at Coco鈥檚 Cafe before the end of the month.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a venue to promote and encourage local artists,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to celebrate the musical ability in the community.鈥�
Those locals will be sharing the festival鈥檚 鈥渟mall, rural stage鈥� with touring talent from across B.C., Canada and other parts of the world.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a diverse, high-quality program.鈥�
Local performers include 5 Sheets to the Wind, Nick Beddington, Nathan Smith, Crescent Spur, Blue Syntax, Roadside Splinter and the Valley Kids Showcase. See a complete lineup at www.robsonvalleymusicfestivalbc.com.
Hinton鈥檚 Wild Mountain Music Festival on the other hand is gearing up to celebrate its 10th anniversary and Canada鈥檚 150th birthday with some decidedly Canuck canon, including Friday headliners 54鈥�40 and a much-anticipated double bill of 鈥渃oming soon鈥� on Saturday and Sunday.
That party goes July 14-16, and describes itself as 鈥渞eal鈥� from the music to the food to the venue, at the Rockies鈥� Original Crossroads.
Real is the least you can say about the rest of Friday鈥檚 lineup, which includes Cleveland-born folk song master David Wilcox, now with 18 albums under his belt, the intensely earthy and award-winning Ontario indigenous act Digging Roots and the Sadies, among others.
If you don鈥檛 know who the Sadies are yet, it鈥檚 time to find out.
Visit www.wildmtnmusic.ca to buy tickets and for more information. Check back there for the scoop on the weekend鈥檚 remaining headliners.
Craig Gilbert | [email protected]
