Hootstock was burning for a comeback. They were a smokin' music show, but last year's forest fires took that the wrong way. The flames threatened their performance site a bit east of 100 Mile House and the thick clouds of ash suffocated all hope of a safe show. Organizers were forced to cancel.
This year the Cariboo skies are fresh, and the entertainment is waiting in the wings ready to fly back into action.
"At that point we had put a lot of work into it and we were of course very excited about it," said Astrid Hensey, one of the organizers of the festival. "Also, everyone kinda got ripped off of their summer which we wait so long all winter for, right?"
The Hootstock creators had assembled the lineup and arranged all the services, then had to call it all off at the last moment. Some elements of the organization can be replicated another day, but in some ways, each show has its own fingerprint and the 2017 edition would never get to make its mark.
"Also there seems to be some momentum every year with a festival in terms of gathering more people to the festival and we felt like it was going to be so much more amazing than the year before. Now that's been interrupted, and hopefully the momentum will still be there," Hensey said.
The signs were good at least from the musicians' camp. The lineup they assembled for this year's show was a cloudburst of grassroots talent. Hootstock's personality is built on folky, bluesy, rootsy, eclecticism. They don't bring in sizzly stars, they bring in choice reputations. Some of this year's roster includes The Grid Pickers, Shirley Gnome, The OM Sound, Banjoman, C.R. Avery & his silent partners, Wax Mannequin, Hachey the MouthPEACE and many more from all over Canada.
It's a collection of music, spoken word, even belly dancers and an illusionist.
"We gave first dibs this year to those artists who were a part of last year's lineup," Hensey said. "This made it easier in a way because a majority of them came back, but it also made it a little harder in the sense that we still had at least 100 applicants. So it can be a daunting task to go through all these applications and have to pick only some, especially since everyone who applies is so great."
A year off was a time of flux. Kilter was off. It was an opportunity to make another move the organizers had been considering. This year's Hootstock Festival would be at an all new location. Hensey said the event had grown in popularity beyond their original expectations. More space was required, and they found it at the Forest Grove Community Grounds, at the hall where the organizers used to hold a precursor event called the Hootennany Cafe. It did so well, the Hootstock idea was born. In that sense, it will be like going home.
The new location also has many layers of amenities that were not available to them in the old festival spot, so the audience and artists should have a better experience as well. There will be two outdoor stages, an event inside the Dandelion Kitchen restaurant, another inside the Legion, there's a general store, and it's all connected and only 15 minutes from downtown 100 Mile House on Canim-Hendrix Road.
"We feel we may have a lot more local interest because of the new location," Hensey said. Included in that local interest is the fan-base from Prince George. A number of the acts on the Hootstock marquee are from this city, and a sizable audience travels down for the show.
"This year we are excited to welcome (Prince George acts) Britt A.M., Danny Bell and poet Erin Bauman. We are also so happy that other folks from the north are coming down such as the Alkemist and Folky Strum Strum."
The audience, wherever they come from, is appreciated a bit more at Hootstock than most other festivals. This festival applies for no government grants and takes no corporate sponsorship. Ticket sales and a few other income streams are what pays the bills. The earlier fans buy tickets, the less stress the organizers feel, especially since this year they are honoring 2017 tickets as well, to make good for the cancellation last year.
The Hootstock website has a full range of prices (those under 12 and over 80 are free) and you can buy online.
