Two Victoria festivals lean on community support amid rising costs for live events

Victoria Folk Music Festival is preparing to welcome its biggest crowd yet.

At a time when festivals across British Columbia and Canada are scaling back or shutting down altogether, Victoria Folk Fest is preparing to welcome its biggest crowd yet.

Now in just its second year, the grassroots festival returns to Royal Athletic Park on Saturday with a lineup headlined by Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, alongside The Sadies, Barney Bentall, Valdy and several other Canadian folk, roots and alt-country artists.

For festival director Dylan Stone, simply reaching year two feels like an accomplishment.

“It was a dream I had for a long time to give Victoria a folk music festival,” Stone told CTV News.

Victoria lost its previous folk festival about a decade ago, and Stone said he had long hoped to revive the tradition. When provincial festival funding became available following the pandemic and Royal Athletic Park became an option, the pieces finally came together.

“We had about four months from green light to the event,” he said. “It was incredibly fast for an event that size, but we made it happen, and it was an overwhelming success.”

About 1,500 people attended last year’s inaugural event.

This year, Stone expects the festival to come close to its 1,750-person capacity.

Unlike last year, however, there was no grant funding to help make it happen.

Instead, Stone says he’s personally taken on the financial risk.

“I’m going into debt,” he said with a laugh. “I banked on the success of last year and kind of went out on a limb to make it happen again.”

Stone, who also performs professionally while organizing concerts and other events, says there isn’t a large team behind the festival.

“As of right now, it’s just me.”

Despite the financial challenges, he believes the festival’s success comes down to one simple idea.

“For me, it starts and ends with the music,” he said.

“It’s people showing each other how to play a chord and singing along, and very communal vibes. We really want to bring kids into the event. We want kids to grow up with this event and grow up with music and be inspired and be a part of the community.”

The festival’s growth comes during a difficult period for live events. Several long-running festivals across Canada have cited rising production costs, inflation, insurance, staffing shortages and declining sponsorship as reasons for cancelling or pausing operations in recent years.

Stone believes governments can play a larger role in helping independent events survive.

“I’d definitely say support from the city, from staff and council to really help green-light events and roll out the carpet,” he said.

“There’s already so many barriers to making these happen. Music venues and music festivals are really passion projects. People put so much work into keeping them alive.”

Beyond the music, Stone says recreating last year’s atmosphere has been just as important.

“I thought the biggest thing we nailed last year was the vibe,” he said.

“It was laid-back, family-friendly, feet in the grass, sunny day, good times — what a folk fest should be.”

The one-day festival will once again feature food trucks, local vendors, a vintage market and a large kids’ zone complete with face painting, balloon artists and inflatable games.

The festival runs from noon until 10 p.m. Saturday at Royal Athletic Park, featuring 12 acts across two stages.

Just a few kilometres away, Ship Point will host another growing festival with a very different soundtrack.

Running Friday through Sunday, i-Land Fest celebrates Caribbean culture with live performances from local, national and international artists, authentic island cuisine, cultural workshops and demonstrations, more than 40 artisan and small business vendors, and family-friendly programming throughout the weekend.

“Come on down, enjoy the food, the drinks, the music, the vibes,” said Caleb Hart with the Victoria Island Caribbean Hub.

The festival is designed to celebrate Caribbean heritage while creating an inclusive space where people of all backgrounds can experience island music, dance, food and traditions in the heart of downtown Victoria.

He says the show will go on, despite financial challenges.

“Even with the less money that we got, we just make it work,” Hart said.

Together, the two festivals showcase the diversity of Victoria’s summer events calendar. Whether it’s folk music on the grass at Royal Athletic Park or Caribbean rhythms along the Inner Harbour, organizers hope the events will become lasting summer traditions built around community, culture and connection.