FESTIVAL DU BOIS: A Welcome Harbinger of Spring
COQUITLAM - Like longer hours of daylight and budding trees, Maillardville's Festival du Bois has become one of the region's most welcome harbingers of spring. Held on the weekend of March 4-5 at Coquitlam's Blue Mountain Park, this annual folk festival's reputation for great music and a good time has grown exponentially – and it is now a must-attend event to shake off the winter blues.
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ENTER THE HAGGIS is a rollicking, powerhouse Celtic quintet who take their music seriously...but not too seriously.
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Along with a stellar line up of Quebec-based, Métis and local artists and groups, Toronto's Celtic music dynamos Enter the Haggis take centre stage in the Grand Chapiteau (Main Tent) for the festival's signature Saturday night celebration in the park.
Since forming in 1996, Enter the Haggis has toured internationally - becoming renown for their high-energy live stage performances and for their rollicking, powerhouse approach to Celtic music. This quintet takes their music and its heritage seriously - but not too seriously.
"Haggis" combines the traditional sounds of the highland bagpipe and fiddle with driving rhythms and vocals. Their music is a hybrid of old and new, traditional tunes and original material sometimes melded with bluegrass. Latin, blues or funk - but always played in the spirit of the tradition, and always performed with plenty of humour.
Their Saturday night concert – with Le Trio á quatre, a bona fide Quebec super-group comprised of music veterans from groups like La Bottine Souriante, Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer and others performing with dance caller Gilles Pitre – promises not only to be a brilliant night of music, but a lot of fun.
The great music at Festival du Bois lasts all weekend long, beginning midday Saturday and ending Sunday with a 3:30 PM finale featuring the “Master of the Métis Fiddle,” Saskatchewan-based John Arcand.
In between, festival-goers can hear icons of Quebecois traditional music Le Rêve du Diable, the Jewish roots music of Kleztory, Gaspé fiddler Edouard Richard and the Rom (gypsy) music of Gitans de Sarajevo. From B.C. – Oliver Schroer and The Twisted String, Masabo, Metis dancers and an entire tent of entertainment for kids.
There are plenty of other onsite activities, plus poutine and maple sugar pie, to welcome in the spring at Festival du Bois. For full festival info: www.festivaldubois.ca or (604) 936-0039.
Pre-Festival Special Event: The McDades, one of Canadian Celtic music's favourite families, will perform at a special festival preview concert on March 2 at 8 PM at St. James Hall, 3214 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver. For tickets, call (604) 736-3022 or at the door. Co-presented by Festival du Bois and the Rogue Folk Club.
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