Goodbye COVID and hello Renfrew Bluegrass Festival

The town of Renfrew led the way into the Ottawa Valley summer music festival season this past weekend as close to one thousand attendees flocked to the town to enjoy the first major post-COVID outdoor event in three years.  

The organizers were thrilled to escape the threat of a three-peat of cancelling the Renfrew Bluegrass Festival, and for all participants and volunteers alike, discussion on returning to a sense of normalcy was perhaps the most popular topic of conversation during the four-day festival held at Ma-Te-Way Park.

More often than not people didn’t get around to discussing the actual bluegrass musicians until everyone voiced their pleasure of COVID sanctions and the four days of perfect weather that welcomed the return of the popular festival for the first time since 2019.

In the end, it was the music of talented artists from all parts of Canada and some from the United States that brought close to 100 recreational vehicles (RVs) in all shapes and sizes to one of eastern Ontario's fastest growing small festivals since it made its debut following the end of the former Bluegrass Festival held on Bob Johnston’s farm in 2017.

Arlene Jamieson, an elected councillor of Renfrew town council and chair of the Bluegrass committee, agreed that it is the music that attracts the crowds and small town support definitely helps.

“We could not have asked for better conditions to relaunch this festival,” she said while taking a five-minute break on Saturday, July 9. “It is like a giant puzzle and all the pieces fell into place. We were able to host and plan the festival without COVID hanging over our heads and the weather was the best four day stretch we have had in months. Combined with our sponsors supporting us financially allowed Mike (Councillor Mike Coulas) to be able to go out and book the artists and pay them.”

Jamieson said the committee opted to keep about 35 Renfrew-based RVs in the Renfrew section since they have been coming back for decades when it was held at the Johnston farm. All RV sections were placed in areas named after Renfrew parks including Stewart, Haramis, and O’Brien while areas reserved for musicians and guests were also named after parks such as Barnet.

“There is a core group that spend the summers travelling from festival to festival and we figured since they have been so loyal to the festival both here and the old location so why not keep them all together as a way to say thanks for coming back each year,” she said.

Jamieson also credited the incredible efforts of the new volunteers and the returning veteran volunteers for helping making all guests feel at home.

“We want our guests to feel welcome and appreciated and our group of 25 volunteers did that and so much more,” Jamieson said. “Whether it was one of our drivers providing door-to door service for the concert goers or a volunteer helping someone carry their lawn chairs to the main stage, we want out guests to go home and tell people what a wonderful and friendly town we are and encourage others to make Renfrew a tourist destination.”

One tradition the festival maintained is hosting a Sunday morning program with various artists performing traditional Gospel music.

“We are excited and proud to continue the legacy of the old site by busing in residents from the Bonnechere Manor to the concert area,” she said. “The seniors love it and they are given first class treatment and they are shaded from the sun under the big tent.”

Unlike previous years when several town staff and elected were involved, the new committee has gotten away from relying on town workers and have recruited more volunteers outside the walls of town hall.

“We still get great support from the town rec staff and some front office support, but several out in the community want to be involved,” she said. “This year we switched to an electronic ticket system with advance tickets are sold and it really cut down on the amount of time we spent on ticket sales. We have seen a big increase in advance sales over previous years and that helps limit our expenses and increases our ticket revenue.

Jamieson explained that it is still a town event and all committee members work hard to make sure expenses are kept in check so that the town is notion the hook for a financial loss.

“We are not here to burden the ratepayers in Renfrew and if we break even that is great and if we make a profit that is even better as we will put that towards next year’s festival and it not a cost for our taxpayers,” she said.