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Steamboat Mountain Music Festival is family friendly
TODAY – July 6 at Edgewater Elementary School
By Anne Jardine
Though the main focus remains local and regional music, this yearʼs Steamboat Mountain Music Festival on July 6 in Edgewater will be adding many fun activities for youngsters.
The A-Muse Troupe from Golden will be on the grounds with face painting, stilt walking, hula hoops, and lots of clowning around. This improv-cirque troupe will offer a beginner’s juggling workshop, hula hoop lessons, and theyʼll be performing and demonstrating acrobatic tricks and other silly stunts. For the artistic, there will be an arts and crafts corner with painting and simple musical instrument making. These activities are made possible through the support of several generous sponsorships, especially the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Network and the Columbia Basin Trust.
Steamboat Festival has been very fortunate this year to have strong support from the local business community, as well as a national sponsorship from Yamaha Music, which has donated a beautiful guitar to be raffled at the festival.
The dayʼs musical offerings are many and varied.
Master of Ceremonies Bill Cropper will be on hand to present the performers, and he will also be doing a bit of performing himself.
Home grown talent on the line-up includes: The Dry Gulch Ramblers, L8TE, Smarty Pants, Marty and Eli Beingessner and friends, the Halfsacks, Beardʼs Creek, Mickey Maione, Abby Wells, Paige Fuller, Jubilee Mountain, Leo Downey, Craig Ellis, and Dos Equis. And from the south, Cranbrook bands Redgirl and the Good OlʼGoats are also confirmed.
The Calgary Bands who will be appearing on the Steamboat Stage are: Fender Bender, Stone of Nowhere, and Los Morenos. And the traditional bluegrass group this year, Five-on-a-String, hails from Vancouver.
On Sunday, June 7, the Steamboat Festival will linger for a little while with a couple of informal free music workshops at All Saintʼs Churchyard at 10 and 11 a.m. The first one will be led by Five-on-a-String and will be an introduction to a few simple three chord blue grass songs for participants to learn. The second workshop is all about singing. It will be led by Redgirl Anie Hepher. Participants are invited to bring their instruments and voices and get involved.
Tickets are available on the website www.steamboatmtnmusicfest.ca through a PayPal link (purchasers do not need to have a PayPal account but must print their receipt to claim their tickets at the gate). Tickets are also on sale at outlets around the Valley on a cash only basis: Pipʼs Country Store in Edgewater, Meet on Higher Ground in Radium, Picture This Photo in Invermere, Windermere Family Pantry, Fairmont Pizza, Brisco Store, Parson General Store, and Moon River Gallery in Golden.
