Musicians threaten to pull out of Dandelion Festival to protest pipeline gift

Musicians who have threatened to pull out of Kemptville, Ont.’s upcoming Dandelion Festival to protest a sponsorship donation from the TransCanada Corp. pipeline giant are putting personal politics ahead of the community as a whole, says the festival’s chairman. “The festival is about the whole community, not just the views of a small group,” Shaun Vardon said Sunday. Festival organizers are trying to raise $5,000 through an Indiegogo campaign, and if the online fundraising meets its goal by Friday — it has already raised more than $3,000 — the pipeline company’s $5,000 will be returned. But that isn’t good enough for some of the musicians booked to play the festival, slated for May 22 to 24. At least three of 18 acts slated to appear say they won’t perform because of TransCanada’s sponsorship. They are protesting the company’s planned Energy East pipeline. Ottawa Citizen