The weather may be tropical but aside from the music, which is always hot at Roots and Blues, festivalgoers should be considerably more comfortable this year.
“Made in the shade,” says enthusiastic production manager David Gonella, who is pumped about additions and improvements being made to make the site more visually inviting and comfortable.
And that includes shade. Lots more of it.
At the Blues Stage, 12 30-ft poles have been installed by Salmon Arm company Glenn Power.
A successful campaign netted Gonella 500 pairs of blue jeans, which will be hung above the audience to provide about 3,000 square feet of shade and some cooling movement if there’s a breeze.
Ten poles have been installed at the Shade Stage and will be hung with shade cloth to provide about 7,000 more feet of shade.
“We’re looking at them to be shaped like a mountain, so when you see Mt. Ida in the background, it should look like they all work together,” Gonella says, noting the wine lounge will be on the other end of the shade stage this year so patrons will be able to enjoy a glass of wine while enjoying Shade Stage performances.
“For me, it’s gonna be fantastic; I am so excited for this and the whole event, personally,” he says. “The biggest thing is we have a new group, a cultural committee, which has been adding decorations and off-stage busking. The plan is that everywhere you look, there is some type of activity – fire dancers, buskers and more.”
They’ve gone over whole site and come up with a decorating plan,” says Gonella, noting the overlapping noise issues confounding buskers a few years ago have been addressed with the use of an easily moveable carpet stage.
“This makes us a little more nimble,” he laughs. “We’ll be looking at it over the weekend and if something doesn’t work in an area, we’ll simply move it.”
Gonella says board member/musician/artist/actor/teacher Elaine Holmes is heading up the committee with local music teacher and performer Roxy Roth in charge of busking.
“I’ve been noticing over the last few years it’s been a bit of a struggle, so this year it’s all about fun,” says Holmes of the challenges festival organizers have faced. “It will be lots more visually exciting with hula hoops, poi spinning, and large, large bubbles – and small bubbles too. Oh my God, it’s going to be fun.”
Festivalgoers are invited to dress up in funky, cool hats and clothing to infuse colour and yes – fun.
Another new idea is a giving tree, where festivalgoers will be invited to write something they wish for in the future on one side of a piece of paper and something for which they are grateful on the other.
The papers will be hung on the tree and lighted at night, which Holmes says will add a nice pop of after-dark colour.
Attendees will also be invited to take part in a community art project. Yarn will be hung between two trees and those who pass by will be invited to grab some yarn from a basket and add to the free-form weaving.
“It’s all about connecting with each other, with the music and having fun,” she says. “Like I tell my students, if it’s not fun, you’re doing it wrong. Sometimes you have to slog through things, but if you can, bloody well make it fun.”
