Shazamfest enters the teen years
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It's an all-ages music and circus theatre festival that will be held in the great outdoors.”
That was the first description of Shazamfest, published in The Record on July 21, 2006, just weeks before the first festival took place.
Now in its 13th year, the original description of Shazamfest is still accurate, but barely scratches the surface of everything that gets jammed into a weekend at the unique Townships event, held on farmland on chemin Way's Mills in Barnston West.
The first festival, founded and organized by Ziv Przytyk and longtime family friend Janet Sutherland, took place on August 19, 2006.
They expected 500. They got around 400.
During its second year, through word of mouth, attendance at Shazamfest almost doubled, with 700 curious people making their way to the Shazam Farm.
According to Record archives, year three was rained out, but Przytyk and Sutherland continued building up the festival grounds and the buzz around the one-of-a-kind festival, bringing together an eclectic mix of music and a variety of performers; everything from sword swallowing to laugh therapy (and anything you could imagine in between) has hit the Shazamfest stage over the years.
In recent years, festival attendance has ranged in the thousands, but because of Przytyk and Sutherland’s environmental initiatives, the festival clean-up has required less and less trash.
With a combo of local, national and international acts, Shazamfest has hosted up and coming bands and wellknown performers like Buck 65 and Men Without Hats.
Yesterday was the ‘soft opening’ of this year’s festival. A few events were scheduled in the evening, but the festival grounds were mostly occupied with volunteers helping set up. Hardcore shazammers trickled in throughout the day to reconnect with festival friends and get their party hats on for a weekend of music, dancing, skateboarding, wrestling, and countless other activities.
According to Sutherland, Shazamfest has a lot of new features this year, to accommodate the growing popularity of the event.
Rather than allowing cars to come and go on the festival grounds, Sutherland said they have rented a fleet of golf carts and are having cars park in a separate field this year. Those who need help moving their equipment are taxied from the parking area over to the grounds so they can set up their tents and camping areas. The idea is to prevent so many cars from coming and going at all hours while pedestrians are moving about.
Another new feature this year is the Trinity Stage.
Off from the main stage area, the new, smaller stage is intended to be a mellower, chill out zone. The cob and wood structure has a pit dug down below the stage area where people can dance or just sit and enjoy a variety of performances.
Also new on the site this year is a ‘harm reduction’ station. Rather than just first aid, the new station is there to help make sure people are enjoying the festival in a safe way. Information and resources are available related to safe sex, drug use, dehydration, heat stroke and other issues that could arise at the festival. Without condoning or judging any behaviors, the harm reduction crew is on site to help ensure that the festival is enjoyed safely by all.
Another new installation is the Famfood kitchen. It was set up to provide a place for people who arrive with families and need somewhere to prepare food. The kitchen area is available for families to cook, and in exchange, they are asked to lend their culinary skills to help feed the Shazamfest volunteers.
According to Sutherland, the festival is 90 per cent volunteer run.
And the biggest news of all this year? It’s not the music (although Sutherland said the lineup is excellent); it’s not the food (although Sutherland mentioned there will be jerk chicken available this year).
“We have an ATM!”
Being isolated has been a challenge for festival attendees who need cash throughout the weekend, Sutherland said.
“Until four years ago, we didn’t have any ice. Now we have all the ice you need,” Sutherland said, explaining that the ATM was another step in addressing the changing needs of the maturing festival and the growing audience.
Performances and activities will continue throughout the weekend for Shazamfest’s ‘Lucky 13’. The festival grounds are located at 2722 chemin Way’s Mills, Barnston west. More details are available on the website at www.shazamfest.com.