A photo from last year’s Fiddle Fest. Photo courtesy Twitter @johnarcandff.
Cultural camps, musical workshops and the provinces best fiddle players and musicians will be showcased near Saskatoon this weekend.
The 19th annual John Arcand Fiddle Fest kicks off on Thursday for a weekend long schedule that includes cultural camps, workshops and plenty of musical entertainment.
John Arcand’s wife and Festival Producer Vicki Arcand says every year they hope to pass on the tradition of fiddle and dance to the next generation.
“We need to expose these youth to all of the components of fiddle, dance and Metis culture if you want them to be carried over into the future,” said Arcand.
In addition to the main stage of entertainment the Fiddle Fest is also a place for several cultural camps and workshops to learn about all aspects of Metis culture in addition to fiddle and dance.
“There is the beading and the finger weaving and the storytelling and the cultural camps were a way to get people engaged who weren’t interested in the music workshops,” said Arcand.
As people come and go throughout the weekend Arcand says she hopes people will take what they learned back to their home communities.
“Whether it is beading the vamp of a moccasin or learning how to jig, square dance, play the fiddle or the guitar that they will use it to pass onto future generations in their communities,” she said.
The festival is located 10 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon and a free shuttle service will be taking participants from the city to the location of the Fiddle Fest. More information can be found at johnarcandfiddlefest.com.
This is the 19th year of the Fiddle Fest.