Cluculz Lake Jamboree returns
This is officially the second annual, it’s still quite new in that sense, but it is always going to be linked to George Garbutt and all the festivals he helped organize.
— Roy Spooner,
Cluculz Lake Community Association
Today marks the first day of the Cluculz Lake Jamboree, and it marks a new beginning for the resurgent event.
The country music festival is in its second year, and yet it is also an old favourite for the community about 30 minutes west of Prince George. It went into a short hiatus after one of the key organizers, George Garbutt of the Lakeside Ramblers Bluegrass Band, passed away in 2013.
The first edition of the event was in 1997, and at that time it was held in spring. The Lakeside Ramblers were the perennial host band. Garbutt produced the event for 15 years.
Last year the concert event was re-launched as both a restored festival and a tribute to Garbutt.
“This is officially the second annual, it’s still quite new in that sense, but it is always going to be linked to George Garbutt and all the festivals he helped organize,” said Roy Spooner, president of the Cluculz Lake Community Association that hosts the festival at the community hall on Lund Road.
This year’s music lineup starts with today’s concerts (first band at 3 p.m.) by LSR Revival, Rossetta & Friends, Chainsaw Jammers, The Gypsy Rovers, The B Side, Cariboo Thunder, Country Calibre, and a ’50s/60s rock set that begins at 9 p.m.
On Saturday the lineup starts with a 10 a.m. open mic followed by Rossetta & Friends, Good News Band, Playing For Keeps, The B Side, Chainsaw Jammers, The Bressettes & Friends, Bob & Heather Ferris, LSR Revival, a community dinner, Country Calibre, Cariboo Thunder, Blackwater Express and Barn Yard Schrapnel starting at 8:45 p.m.
The Sunday activities begin with a pancake breakfast at
8 a.m.
The first music showcase unfolds from 9:45 a.m. with the Good News Band, The Bressettes & Friends, Rossetta & Friends, Country Calibre, Cariboo Thunder, The Gypsy Rovers, LSR Revival, The B Side, and a grand finale starting at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $15 each (children under 12 are free) per day or $30 for a weekend pass.
The services nearby to the hall include full-service camping, store and meals at the Brookside Resort, and The Cabin restaurant and store.
The hall is located at 3385 Lund Road and Spooner said it is becoming its own attraction since, like this fundraiser festival, it got a modern facelift.
“The hall is having its own rebirth since we did a renovation, or actually a series of renovations,” he said.
“The first phase was ready for last year’s jamboree. That was about $250,000 worth of upgrades. We took the hall basically right down to the foundation and rebuilt it on the existing frame. For this year’s festival, we can show the community the second phase, which is a whole upgrade to all the bathrooms and better accessibility for the whole building. There’s also better lighting, better sound. And we’re excited to start the third phase which is a new kitchen.”
Spooner said these upgrades were thanks to private sector donors led by Integris and Vanderhoof Co-op, and public sector grants from the Northern Development Initiative Trust and Regional District of Bulkley Nechako.
Fundraiser events like the Cluculz Lake Country Music Jamboree are important for showing sponsors and donors that the community is behind the revamped hall, and it is moving into the future with renewed momentum, like the next verse of a good song.