Last weekend's Goderich Celtic Roots Festival was a huge success. Artistic Director Cheryl Prashker said having Loreena McKennitt headline on Saturday certainly didn't hurt, but even the weather cooperated and the rain that was threatened failed to show.
Prashker said the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival is a very unique experience for fans for a number of reasons.
“Well first of all this is a family friendly festival so it means they can bring the kids, let them run around, we have a kids area, kraft vendors, food vendors," she explained. "It's an amazing thing for the community but we have people here from Arizona, Georgia, Australia, places like that. It's not just home town anymore.”
But she said it's also a very unique experience for the performers.
“We have the Celtic College and the kids camp the week before, which means all the musicians get to spend a week in town at people's homes, they stay with people from the town," Prashker pointed out. "So they bond, they're here all week, they get to go to the beach, they get to play music with each other. So it's a very special week and they know that and they love being here.”
Prashker said a big part of the attraction for the performers is meeting new friends and catching up with old friends from previous Festivals.