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Sunfest Raves: Devoted Fans Talk About Why They Make the Drive to London, Canada

Detroit, Michigan. Ismael Ahmed, State Director of Dept of Human Services, Michigan and former executive director of ACCESS, the USA’s largest Arab American social services agency:

I love Sunfest because it is set in an almost idyllic park. Most of the performers perform on very small stages, which allow you to be up front and personal. If you want to talk to the artist, you can. You drive over, get a hotel for a couple of days, and bring the whole family. You go to the park, lay out a blanket, and move from stage to stage. You can dance or watch the music. And when you’re hungry, you get something from just about any place in the world, everything from elephant ears to Indian curry to Jamaican goat stew just a few steps away.

Sunfest has an amazing ability to indentify small and up-and-coming groups from all over the world as well as Canada in particular. The festival is not so much bothered by popular opinion. It's a real chance to see things that just don't make the newspapers, or even world music magazines. You see groups that you'll see years from now doing really, really well. You don't have to know what is playing there to know it is going to be good.

London, Canada is one of my favorite places in the world. It's a city but it has a sense of its rural-ness. It's just well set up for taking a weekend and enjoying your life. There's green space everywhere, and trees everywhere, with lots of little shops and restaurants.

I’ve gone every year since Sunfest started and I bring my grown kids from all over the country, from four other states. We get together at Christmas time and for Sunfest. I also take a whole tribe of friends with me to Sunfest, some from other cities. We bring almost 100 people.

 

Dayton, Ohio. Jim Carter a.k.a “Rev. Cool,” cult DJ on WYSO:

We’ve been going to Sunfest since the first concert fourteen years ago. I first heard about the festival from friends, and we went up together and had a fantastic time. I brought my whole family. We have three girls, and they grew up with Sunfest.

What I really like about it is that it encompasses so much of what both the world and local community have to offer. You can go and see the most outstanding acts in the world, and the next minute come across the most undiscovered, unheard of group ever. Those discovery moments have been the most memorable experiences. What I totally respect about Sunfest is its unique ability to present artists still outside the mainstream, but who are the most tremendous musicians you’ll ever see. You come away totally excited, snapping up whatever CDs you can get your hands on.

And while the whole thing’s going on, you’re right in the middle of a mid-sized Canadian town, a really charming place. There are plenty of grass and trees, and 4-5 stages simultaneous of a wide variety of acts. During the day, you can wander around, visiting the vendors for fantastic food, from Vietnamese spring rolls to Persian-style chicken. You can have lunch and enjoy the most terrific acts ever, from five feet away. It’s kid friendly, and a local street theater entertains kids, while you listen to the most sophisticated world music anywhere. And then at night, it’s like a showcase concert, with big bands in an old-fashioned bandshell. The crowds come, the energy increases. Bands put on their full show, with lights, costumes, the works.

I remember one year, during the day, when we were at a small-stage concert, listening to Tarika from Madagascar. Also in the audience were a group of mentally challenged adults, and one of them wandered up the stage and was trying to talk to Tarika’s singer. Their escort was trying to pull him away, but the singer said, “No, he’s got a question and I’d like to try to answer it.” That really expresses the humble, intimate environment of festival. You wander into a shop at the festival selling small percussion instruments, and there you’ll see the band you just saw playing, jamming away.

It’s just not summer without going up there.



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