This is the second in a series of stories about some of the performers appearing at the Princeton Traditional Music Festival. The Festival begins on the evening of Friday, August 16 with the opening ceremony followed by a country dance on Veterans’ Way beside the Legion. The dance will feature a live band with fiddle, guitar and concertina. Everyone is welcome. There will be a caller to teach the dances so no experience is necessary and people don’t even need to bring a partner. On Saturday and Sunday there will be music from 10 am until 6 p.m. right in town.
About seven years ago Jon Bartlett and I were at a Maritime music festival east of Quebec City when we heard a crystal clear woman’s voice wafting from the stage. It was Claire Boucher singing a sailor’s song from the coast of France. Claire is a native of Brittany in western France. Her involvement in Breton traditions started with dance, followed by traditional singing. She sings songs and teaches dances from her part of the country. Claire will be accompanied on voice and flute by her partner Brad Hurley, who has played traditional Irish and Breton music for thirty years. Claire and Brad are just two of the many performers new to the Festival this year
A familiar face from previous Festivals is Princeton’s MP, Alex Atamanenko, who will join us for his fourth appearance at the Festival. Alex has been singing for many years both as a solo performer and with a group called the Balladeers. He performs regularly in seniors’ homes in the Castlegar area. He sings songs in Russian, a language he learned at home. He also sings songs from the folk revival of the sixties together with songs from BC and other parts of Canada. Alex will be joined in his performance by Lawrence Halisheff.
These are just some of the performers appearing at this year’s Princeton Traditional Music Festival and the best thing about it is it’s free!
The reason it’s free is because it’s run entirely by volunteers and the performers are donating their talents. To make the festival a success the organizers will need lots of volunteers. If you’d like to get involved, please contact them. Even if you have only a couple of hours available your help would be most welcome. Give them a call and they’ll welcome you aboard. To find out more visit the Festival’s webblog at princetontraditional.org or give Jon and Rika a call at 295-6010