On Sunday afternoon, music magic took place in Centennial Park.
As festival-goers sprawled out on the field, taking in the sunshine, the mountains and the moment, a group of musicians took to the stage鈥攁n ensemble that had never before met.
鈥淏right Light Social Hour was up there with the Pick Brothers and one guy from the Royal Streets and then there was Willy [Saunders] and Monika [Schaefer] and Kiki the Eco Elf,鈥� recalls festival coordinator Cristin Murphy. 鈥淚 was thinking: this is exactly what we鈥檙e looking for. It was exactly how I envisioned the Sunday jam.
鈥淚t always amazes me to see musicians who have never in their lives played together pull something like that off鈥攁nd with all of those local musicians, that was a moment where I was like, 鈥榃ow!鈥欌��
The Sunday jam was the culmination of the second annual Jasper Folk Music Festival, marking the end of three days of music in the mountains.
The festival kicked off on Friday night and saw Jasperites and visitors alike show up to dance away the cold weather鈥攁nd it worked. The remainder of the weekend was graced with blue, sun-drenched skies.
Beyond Sunday鈥檚 jam, other highlights include the weekend鈥檚 headliners: Shred Kelly and Bright Light Social Hour. Both nights, the crowd was on its feet, enthusiastically grooving along at the front of the stage right to the end.
鈥淚t was fabulous,鈥� said Murphy. 鈥淲e are all really happy, and everyone I spoke to is happy, too.鈥�
Simon Chisotti, the festival鈥檚 media coordinator, said he doesn鈥檛 yet have concrete attendance numbers, but he figures they are at least on par with last year.
鈥淭he weather wasn鈥檛 as nice as last year, but that didn鈥檛 stop people from showing up, especially for the Saturday,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t was definitely a success,鈥� added Stephanie Lavoie, the festival鈥檚 volunteer coordinator. 鈥淥ur volunteers were amazing. Seeing them smile all throughout the grounds was great鈥攖hey were having fun and getting the job done.
鈥淭he weekend exceeded our expectations, and we鈥檙e in a good position; we can do this again next year!鈥�
But first the festival organizers are taking a quick breather. They will reconvene in November for the society鈥檚 annual general meeting and then planning will start for 2015.
Nicole Veerman
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