Folk Fest won’t be banning headdresses, selfie sticks
First Nations headdresses have recently been forbidden from major music festivals in Montreal and Edmonton, but the Calgary Folk Music Festival said Wednesday it has no plans to ban attendees from wearing indigenous headdresses as fashion accessories at this year’s event.
In recent years, feathered headdresses have been spotted at music concerts across North America, and celebrities and festival- goers have faced criticism for donning the attire and disrespecting Aboriginal culture.
Calgary Folk Music Festival executive director Debbi Salmonsen said attendees haven’t ever shown up wearing First Nations headdresses, and organizers will not forbid the item at next week’s four- day festival.
“We do not have a policy banning any type of attire for people,” Salmonsen said.
“However, because we pride ourselves, after 36 years, on having an inclusive, diverse and intelligent audience, we believe and trust they will respectfully not wear anything that would offend any cultural group.”
On Tuesday, the Edmonton Folk Festival asked festival- goers to refrain from wearing First Nations headdresses at this summer’s event.
“Such headdresses have a sacred, cultural meaning and we ask that you respect and honour that by not using them as a fashion accessory,” stated a heavily- shared post on the festival’s Facebook page.
Salmonsen said she respects that Edmonton Folk Festival organizers are “being proactive” but said Calgary’s folk fest won’t follow suit.
“We just, at this point, don’t have any policies that focus on fashion or attire, and we trust that people will focus more on the music than on what they’re wearing,” she said.
Over the weekend, a woman faced backlash after she was spotted wearing a headdress at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
In 2013, clothing retailer H& M stopped selling faux headdresses from its Canadian stores after receiving complaints.
Osheaga, a major Montreal music festival, recently announced its own ban on headdresses, adding the attire to a list of prohibited items that includes drugs, fireworks, weapons and selfie sticks.
While selfie sticks have been banned from tourist destinations and music festivals across North America, the Calgary Folk Music Festival has no plans to prohibit the picture- snapping devices.
“We just ask that people use ( selfie sticks) respectfully. We haven’t had an issue with them in the past, so we haven’t had any reason to need to create a ban,” Salmonsen said.