Pender Harbour Jazz Festival chair Monty Rolston tendered his resignation to the Music Society's board last October, and other resignations immediately followed from members of the stalwart committee who had put together 11 festivals. It seemed like the final curtain for the 2008 show that attracts hundreds of music lovers to the area every September. But Paul Hopkins, current chair of the Pender Harbour Music Society, is happy to report that the 12th annual celebration of jazz will take place on the third week in September, as usual. A new committee that includes some newcomers to the Coast and others with expertise in budgeting and event planning have stepped forward and held an organizational meeting Jan. 5. Barry O'Hara, who has expertise in music and business, will be the chair.
Hopkins said the board was surprised when Rolston resigned. "Ideally, we should have had a transitional committee, but that didn't happen," he said. "We've been forming a working group to identify what tasks are involved, develop a new budget and recruit people."
Rolston is clear that he did not want to see the festival die. He explained that the 11 festivals represented 12 years of work. When the idea was first broached with the hope of opening in 1996, Rolston could quickly see what was involved, and he made the decision to plan for 1997 instead. He handpicked a crew of volunteers and made himself chair, or dictator, as his committee fondly called him. Many of the original committee, such as founding member Les Fowler, have since moved away from the area and could no longer continue. "The original idea was to sell Pender Harbour, to get the tourists here for one more weekend in September," Rolston recalls. Rolston cites the lack of venues over the years for taking the wind out of the festival. The Sundowner, a historic hotel, was sold, the Irvine's Landing Pub was closed, and the Park Motel that provided accommodation to musicians became unavailable. The biggest blow was the loss of Lowe's Resort a few years ago that had provided a solid anchor to Sunday's events.
Hopkins does not see the demise of these venues as a problem. "We've had new venues that have been a spectacular success," he points out, referring to Motoko's art gallery that handled 400 people outdoors during one musical event. Just down the street from her gallery in Garden Bay, the Pender Harbour Resort has also proved popular, while attendance at The Grasshopper and the Garden Bay pubs was always good. This year, Rockwater Resort at Halfmoon Bay may be involved. The format will change. For example, the big dance at the Legion may take place on one night only, rather than two nights. Based on good feedback from area stores and participants, the Sunday day of music might take place closer to the business area.
One thing is certain: there is no shortage of musicians who want to play in Pender. Those interested in participating or performing on the festival dates of Sept. 19 to 21 should check out the website, www.penderharbourmusic.ca. If you would like to be part of the volunteer team, contact O'Hara at 1-877-883-2456 or 604-741-5272 or at [email protected].
