Porchfest brings music to the front door
For Shelley Glica, this year’s Porchfest won’t just be about the music. It’ll be a break from the worst year of her life.
At about 9 a.m. on Christmas morning, Glica was told her 25-year-old daughter Paige had died of an overdose after years of battling schizophrenia. She was still dealing with that loss when her mother Shirley died in April.
Feeling numb for much of the year, Glica wasn’t sure she could organize another Porchfest after last summer’s successful debut. The event gathered 32 musicians performing on 12 porches near the downtown core.
Finally, on the last day of applications for a city grant, she jumped back in. And some healing began.
“It gave me something to focus on,” she says. “It was a way to honour Paige, and it’s something I really enjoy.
“To me, community-building and volunteerism are incredibly important. It’s a way for me to give back. I’ve been very grateful and blessed by having such a wonderful community of people to work with.”
The Porchfest concept originated in Ithica, New York in 2007 and has since spread to several communities across the U.S. and Canada, including Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y. It gathers all styles of music, performed on porches within walking distance of each other.
Last year’ s Niagara Falls Porch fest attracted about 250 people. Glica is anticipating plenty more for this year’s follow-up Aug. 13, which has 40 performers and 14 porches.
It also has a $3,000 grant from the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund, allowing Glica to pay artists $50 for each performance.
It’s a huge leap from last year’s paltry $300 budget. Glica and husband Will Nobes pitched in some of their own money in order to pay artists $20 each.
This year’s line-up includes Jessica Wilson, Evan Rotella and Miss M to go along with returning acts Katey Gatta, House of Haunt and Ashlee Standish.
The complete list of performers and porches can be found at www. porchfestnf.ca
“I was amazed by how much people supported the idea of Porchfest, and the amount of feedback that I had at the event last year really encouraged me to want to do it again,” says Glica. “I took that feedback seriously.”
The event runs to 4 p.m., followed by an after party at Taps Brewery on Queen Street.
For Glica, it promises to be an exhausting and emotional day. Her daughter and mother will be constantly in mind as she listens to music flowing all across her neighbourhood.
“You have two choices – you get up and keep moving forward, or you don’t,” she says. “What keeps me going is the idea that there’s still a lot left for me to do. It’s certainly not without its challenges.” jlaw@postmedia.com