For the past 30 years, the Harrison Festival Society has produced and presented the Season of Performing Arts. This year, hot off the heels of the 40th Anniversary of the Harrison Festival of the Arts, we are presenting the 30th annual Season of the Performing Arts. We are very proud of what the society has accomplished in this time. There have been highs and lows and everything in between. The Festival Society is a pioneer when it comes to year round programming and set a precedent for other festivals across Canada including much larger festivals and organizations. We are excited about this upcoming season and what the future holds for the Harrison Festival Society. To understand where we are going, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the story of where it all began and have a chat with former Artistic and Executive Director Phyllis Stenson, and former General Manager Ed Stenson. The following is a summary of the conversation. The voices you hear in the attached audio clips are Phyllis Stenson, Ed Stenson, Andy Hillhouse, and Bryan Cutler with questions by Agassiz Harrison Observer Editor Nina Grossman.
How it all began!
What’s important to note is that when the “Season” began we did not have full time staff. It was part volunteer and part employment Grants. Anna Vogstad who was working with us at the time with a job creation grant had a friend in the Phoenix Chamber Choir and they had a new show and were looking for a place to present it before they went on tour. The show happened on Sunday April 9th, 1988 and was a success. 96 tickets were sold. From there, the light bulb went on and we soon realized that year round programming would be a great idea. A lot of the Festival was built around the assumption that people would not have to leave the area to see great live music and it made sense to do some shows through the year. It kept the Harrison Festival profile up throughout the year and it provided an opportunity for volunteers and kept the community together between festivals. It also helped with the cash flow. Back then the Festival had one event every year and the cash flow was very “weird”. We came out of the festival in debt, then we could do a show and would come out of that show still in debt but owing different people money, but we didn’t go a whole year with owing the same people. It gave performers another venue to perform in in the Valley, and at the time there was very little happening in Chilliwack. There was no Chilliwack Cultural Centre at the time and UFV (Fraser Valley Collage then) and the players guild were doing theatre and so was the Chilliwack Arts Council for the most part. There was very little in area as far as live music.
How it all began audio clip –
One of the first to Branch out
Maintaining the infrastructure for a once a year event was challenging so having season shows helped to keep things active. The funding structure of different grants changed over the years as more Festivals began to do more year round programming outside of their usual once a year event. Harrison was one of the first festivals to begin year round programming. Soon, many festival grants were then redefined as festival operating grants which meant that funds could go towards both the main festival as well as the other programming, which for us was the Season of Performing arts. In the early years of the season there were very few groups that did year round programming as remembered at early WRAD (Western Roots Artistic Directors) meetings. Now, most of the groups have year round programming. Harrison was one of the first to do so! It’s great that has been able to keep going and is a really important part of the community.
One of the first to branch out audio clip
Who and what was being booked back then
Back when it started, the programming was all over the map. We did a lot more theatre back then. There was a play called Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth by Drew Hayden Taylor which was both funny but also topical. Margo Kane’s Moon Lodge was another play we did. We actually took a play called Out of the Silence to Tzeachten Hall in Chilliwack and Chehalis (known today as Sts’ailes) too. Elders and some of the indigenous schools would be invited and there would be matinees and evening performances. We did a lot of professional theatre, but as time went on, it got to be way to expensive to bring, even if there were only a pair of people in the cast. In the very early years it was definitely local (Vancouver) performers, brand new people wanting to spread out their reach.
Rumillajta (1995) was one of the first international shows we did and they came all the way from South America. The numbers were quite good (138) and we brought them up to Chehalis. They also did Hope and Mission but using Harrison as a base for their small tour. We had a lot of energy then!
Who and what was being booked back then audio clip
Finding the balance
Andy Hillhouse became the Artistic and Executive Director in September of 2013. Since then, Andy has been the person in charge of booking all of the amazing talent presented by the Harrison Festival Society. These are some of his and Phyllis’s thoughts about how booking the season can be quite the challenge.
The basic makeup of the Season hasn’t changed all that much since I took over. It was in a really good place and continues to be to this day. It’s always a matter of figuring out the balance of introducing new stuff to people or bringing in things that may be a little bit challenging or unusual for people. Balancing that with a couple of shows that sell well. The tricky thing is sometimes is you think something is going to sell well and it doesn’t and the thing you think wont, takes off! It’s very hard to predict. By the end of the whole season we have to have had a couple of good selling shows. It’s also important to maintain a good variety of shows. Cultural diversity is apart of the mandate here and that is something Andy has been doing a great job with.
Phyllis and Andy on finding the balance audio clip
Here’s a gallery of some of our recent Season shows inside Memorial Hall!
Photo Cred: Hunter Ramey
With this season underway and the first concert Coco Jafro already in the rear view, We are very much looking forward to exciting a diverse lineup of artists this season. On Novemeber 3rd, Sarah Jane Scouten will be bringing her band, the Black Diamond Studs to town and giving us a taste of that good ol’ classic country sound. On Novemeber 24th, Andy himself will be playing with and backing one of Canada’s best fiddlers Pierre Schryer. The season continues into the new year with great bands like Locarno, Hillsburn, Tillers Folly. We are yet to book a few days, but as of now, we are working on getting back to our roots and doing a night of theatre as well. Stay tuned for more information on that on our website, harrisonfestival.com.
