Brenda Hansen, with her brother Dwayne and Kenny Hanuse, greeted the audience of Love Fest 2024 with the ‘Klahoose Welcome Song.’ (You can listen to it, sung in the ʔayʔaǰuθəm language, in the podcast version of this story.)
Close to 700 people purchased tickets, performed, or were at the event on Saturday August 10. Cortes Currents went backstage to interview some of the performers and record clips of their music.
Continue reading Stories from Lovefest 2024A crew of seven volunteers was just starting to put up the stage, when Cortes Currents arrived at Linnaea Farm on Wednesday. The doors to Love Fest 2024 will open at 11 AM on Saturday, August 10.
“This is the fifth year. We took two years off during COVID, so it’s seven years since we started in 2017,” said Rex Weyler, one of the founding organizers of Love Fest,
His co-producer, Benji Coey, added, “Things are going really well. We’re about three days out and things are moving very smoothly, so fingers crossed touch wood it continues. It’s going to be a beautiful day. The grass on the lawn in front of the stage is lush and green, which for this time of year is a miracle. The lake looks calm and I think the whole vibe is going to be really beautiful.”
Continue reading Love Fest 2024: Final touches Before the Day
Conclusion of a 4 part series, originally published on Oct 27, 2023.
Hollyhock brought Ann Mortifee to Cortes Island. She was one of Vancouver’s leading singers, but had no previous teaching experience when they invited her to do a workshop. That was 40 years ago.
“Martha Abelson convinced me to give it a go. I remember the first workshop I did. I went into a wild panic because I’m not a teacher, I’m a singer. I went to the library to find out how I could teach,” she explained. “At the end of the first session in the morning, I told Shivon Robinsong (a co-founder and Director of Hollyhock), ‘I can’t do this. I’ve used everything that I was going to use in the five days in the first morning. I have no idea what I’m doing for the rest of the week. I have to give them the option to leave. I’ll pay for everything that Hollyhock would lose.'”
Continue reading Ann Mortifee: Coming Home To Cortes IslandLovefest 2024 is coming to Cortes Island on Saturday, August 10. The full slate of performers has now been confirmed. Today’s program is going to be a sampler from five of the acts: 6 Foot Johnson, Doc Fingers, Elise LeBlance, the Adonis Puentes Cuban band and Ann Mortifee
“ It’ll be a great day of music; it’s a family affair. There’s food, of course, and all the crafts vendors and there will be massages. There’s a kid’s tent. We’re going to have fun and games for kids. It’s the Cortes annual music festival. This is for the people that are here in the summer and of course, the year round residents that live on Cortes. We like to feature our local musicians and we like to bring in new bands that people haven’t heard. Doors open at 11:00 AM, the music starts at noon, Lovefest will probably go till 9:00, PM,” explained Rex Weyer, one of the Festival’s principle organizers.
Continue reading Lovefest 2024: Sampling of MusiciansLast week, I sat down on zoom with television showrunner and independent film maker Jon Cooksey to talk about his 2010 film, “How to Boil a Frog”. The film, which also features Rex Weyler, is being screened at Manson’s Hall on Tuesday, July 9, at 7PM. Jon and Rex will be there to participate in discussion after the film.
In the interview, we talked about the events that led to his interest in climate change and ecological overshoot, his long friendship with Rex, and how his thoughts about impacting the future have evolved since making this film.
Continue reading On Climate Change, Peak Oil, Overshoot, and the Importance of Relationships: An Interview with Jon Cooksey
