A decade of In the Soil
Multi-disciplinary arts festival returns downtown this month
It was born over some brews at the Merchant Ale House.
A decade later, it’s one of the most unique arts festivals in Canada.
In the Soil turns 10 this year, and its mandate is identical to the one hammered out at that downtown St. Catharines pub: Anything goes. All arts, of any type, for a multi-disciplinary festival at the end of April.
“The spirit is the same,” says artistic producer and co-founder Annie Wilson. “I found myself quite nostalgic about the festival this year, because in some ways we’re doing a retrospective and looking back at the very beginning.
“We could see this beautiful, emerging arts community here in Niagara, and really wanted to step up and find a way of showcasing and connecting our community. It felt disparate at the time to us.”
Along with co-founder and artistic director Deanna Lynn Jones, Wilson saw a festival in which music, theatre, spoken word, etc., all shared the bill, and often the same stage. It now encompasses three days in the downtown core, a mix of about 150 free and ticketed events herding more than 400 artists and performers.
The theme of ‘common thread’ will be seen in this year’s festival, says Jones.
“It’s something we’ve really taken on, especially celebrating Year 10,”
she says. “All the different artists, from emerging to professional, our team that’s put this together, our volunteer base, businesses, community organizations that have come to contribute to this festival and the spirit of the festival.”
While there will be a different quirk or two, including a newly designed hub stage, the festival’s template remains untouched: Shows and exhibitions going on in multiple spaces and venues. The Saturday will see a free show by Juno-nominated DJ Shub of Fort Erie, and Sunday will
feature the return of festival favourite The Lemon Bucket Orchestra.
Also returning will be the artisan market and interactive village in the festival’s home base on St. James Street, between St. Paul and King streets. The popular Rhizomes show, in which visitors can check out multiple art exhibitions happening at once, will move to Silver Spire United Church.
Keeping it multi-disciplinary is key, says Jones. Basically, if you make or perform art, you have a home at In the Soil.
“We really pride ourselves on presenting artists’ work that is new, that’s original, and as much as possible a mash-up of disciplines,” she says. “We offer one-time audience experiences.”
Wilson is especially proud that In the Soil helped pave the way for St. Catharines’ downtown cultural renaissance.
“It’s been a source of pride for our team to think we were ahead of that step,” she says. “We started to make that path. You see business owners, government leaders, people all starting to see the power of the arts to bring community together.”