Stonetown Music Festival-A Young Cause for All

It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn’t happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true...Alphaville

(following is the letter to the editor I wrote, printed in todays (September 2) St. Marys Journal Argus)

A week ago Saturday, my good friends and owners of The Harvest Bakery made a vested attempt to create a musical “buzz”, by gathering a selection of local musicians, both young and established to put forth the first “Stonetown Music Festival”. Being in the know from the first spark to the realization on the 22^nd, I was fully aware of the hurdles they had to jump to accomplish what they did and as a result of this hard work, feel commendation is due to them, not snide digs about the lack of tourists, closed businesses, screaming vocals and an over-amped bass.

To be fair, one can argue that the pool of St. Marys live acts that performed on the 22^nd varied from good to fair to passable, and that the acoustics on Water street left something to be desired, but that is not the point. Rather than looking at it’s glass half full shortcomings, as any virgin attempt has, we should all be looking at its positive future potential and the underlying message behind it that John Leberg, and anyone in his camp seems to be overlooking. What we have is an attempt by the younger populace of St. Marys to give local musicians of all ages and genres a platform to express their musical talents, for today and tomorrow in a festival format and a permanent band shell. In a town that has always been a big youth sports town, I feel this spotlight that is now shining on the non-sports oriented young talents should not be turned off but brightened.

Community support for this inaugural event was lacking for most of the 7 hours I spent happily supporting the efforts of the group of under 23 year olds running the show, some just in there teens. This lack of support needs correction both behind and in front of the stage. With the right people, the right funding, and the right organizations we can create something that really matters. Music was, is and always will be, meant to be played and experienced in a live outdoor venue. The conjoining of music, arts and community is well documented and yearly tapestries have been woven from this patchwork.

The successes are well realized, from Hillside’s sold out 3 day green haven on Guelph island, to the legendary Mariposa in Orillia’s Tudhope Park, from the local and free multi-cultural splash at Sunfest to the long running Home County Folk. Let us step up and join this youthful enthusiasm for freedom of expression, forget the “not in my backyard” backwardness and open our eyes and ears to the possibilities, many suggested in the most thought out and objective of citizen letters written on this issue, by Tom Sproat and Rachel Petrie. Once again 2 young members of our community intelligent enough to offer a much more liberal, well thought out proactive piece while leaving out personal attacks, something the opposition unfortunately seems unable to do. Then again, one should thank Mr. Leberg for raising this issue as he has really inadvertently planted the seed that will hopefully someday see music, in all its fantastic forms become a permanent part of summer in St. Marys, because, at the end of the day, music can not only lift one’s inner spirits, it can add spirit to any town, or city wise enough to embrace it, nurture it and give it legs to stand on.