Deep River Summerfest is a four-day-long arts, entertainment and sporting festival which combines all the excitement of a large-venue outdoor concert with all of the high-energy events and family fun that festival goers have come to expect.

Summerfest 2008 will be the place to be Thursday, July 31st through Sunday, August 3rd. Young or old, mark your calendars - you don't want to miss this!

News

Canadian Tire New Summerfest Title Sponsor

Something Old Something New

Summerfest 2008: Your Festival, Your Music

• Searson – Celtic Rock/Country/Alternative

• Kelly Craig Sextet – Swing band

• Christian Elliot – Cellist

• Carlos Del Junco – Blues Harmonica and Vocals

Canadian Tire New Summerfest Title Sponsor

Freezing rain, snow storms, cold spells…it’s hard to imagine that we’ll ever break free of winter’s grip. But the way time flies, summer will be here before you know it, and with it, Deep River Summerfest 2008.

Summerfest 2008 – Your Festival – will run, as usual, during the August long weekend. The exceptionally popular event, now in its 10^th iteration, drew almost 6000 Summerfest lovers in 2006. Thanks to a new title sponsor, Canadian Tire; a dedicated Summerfest committee; and other event and venue sponsors, there’s every reason to believe that attendees will find as much to love this time round.

“We’re tremendously excited about being involved in Summerfest 2008,” says Stephen Pike, who recently took over the Deep River, Canadian Tire franchise. “Canadian Tire is a very community-minded corporation, and because Summerfest has something to offer absolutely every member of this community – first rate music, theatre, sporting and family activities – it’s really a perfect fit.”

In addition to taking on the role of title sponsor, Canadian Tire is also sponsoring the Lamure Beach venue and is one of the co-sponsors of the Show and Shine Car Show. And if this doesn’t keep Stephen busy enough, he’ll also be overseeing construction of a new Canadian Tire store in the coming months – one which is scheduled to open a couple weeks prior to Summerfest.

Something Old Something New

The Canadian Tire building won’t be the only new and exciting thing worth checking out over the August long weekend. Summerfest Entertainment Director, Susan Morris, and team are working hard to bring some fresh sights and sounds to Summerfest 2008.

“We’ve got something new for all ages of Summerfesters,” explains Susan. “For older kids and teens there’ll be an air bounce/obstacle race course and an opportunity for them to take Canada’s SportFit Challenge. For the little ones, we’ll have a puppeteer in the FEN area on Saturday morning. New events open to everyone include a chess tournament and an improv workshop led by the Company of Fools. Add to this lots of new musical acts of every genre and we’re looking at another great Summerfest.”

Of course Summerfest wouldn’t be the festival we all know and love without the old favorites as well: the Saturday night fireworks, the car show, the three-pitch tournament, the tandem canoe race, local musicians and two pancake breakfasts (though be on the look out for a “Roaming Horde” while you’re packing away those flapjacks). For the younger set there’ll be the family fun beach day, kid’s triathlon, teen’s Much Music Video Dance, the Mighty Machine show, and as always, a FEN area complete with an under-seven air bounce and toys and crafts for tots.

So let winter do its worst, Summerfest 2008 is on its way regardless. Worst case scenario: the fishing derby becomes an ice fishing derby. 

Summerfest 2008: Your Festival, Your Music

As the weather warms, the buzz increases about Summerfest 2008, sponsored by Canadian Tire. While much of the talk on the street centres on “who’s coming down for the festival,” and “where will I find space for them – and the four other friends who will be here at that time,” probably the biggest question on people’s lips is: who is the headliner band going to be?

Well, I’ll tell you this: I can’t tell you…yet. The nine-person Summerfest committee has been working hard on this one – particularly Entertainment Director, Susan Morris – but this key act has not yet been finalized. As you may have guessed from the survey that went out last fall, the committee takes finding the right bands VERY seriously. The “right bands” are of course the ones that appeal to the highest number of Summerfest goers – if not directly (there are a lot of new bands that many of us in the 35+ set have never heard of), then at least with regards to the style of music they play.

Thanks to the over 350 Summerfesters who participated in our survey, we were able to get a clear sense of what we should be looking for – and what we shouldn’t. Not surprisingly the different demographics gravitated toward different musical genres. The teens were “all over” the younger rock bands but expressed a definite aversion to county. The older segment of the population showed an interest in blues. However, the type of music the majority of people said they wanted to hear on the Delta Dental Mainstage might best be described as “rockin’, feel good, and danceable.” 

Armed with this knowledge, Susan narrowed down the list and then started calling, emailing and faxing.  So far she’s booked a number top-notch musical acts and is very close to getting us our headliner. Once she does, you can be sure we’ll let you know, but in the meantime, here’s a list of some of the other great musical entertainment you’ll be able to catch at Summerfest.

Searson – Celtic Rock/Country/Alternative

Delta Dental Mainstage, Friday night

Searson, the father /daughter(s) quartet with roots in Eganville, has taken their high-energy, “kickin’ Celtic” show all over Canada and the U.S. during the past three years. Their largely Scottish-based tunes feature some wonderfully wild and melodic interplay between fiddler Colleen, who plays with an aggressive, bow-bouncing style, and pianist Erin, whose rapid-fire keyboard style is somewhere between boogie and Cape Breton dancehall. Heather’s bass and bodhran anchor the rhythm and Erin’s captivating voice – frequently compared to Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, tops off their unique sound.

Kelly Craig Sextet – Swing band

Valley Wines Yacht and Tennis Club, Friday night

With an upcoming CD release, and a long list of prestigious “gigs” lined up, 2008 looks to be a pivotal year for this “hard bop” swing band led by renowned Ottawa trumpeter Kelly Craig.  “Kelly has come of age as a jazz player,” says one reviewer. “With a rare originality the Kelly Craig Sextet often surprise Ottawa’s sophisticated jazz audiences, composing unheard standards with the right-on feel of a masterpiece of the school.”

Christian Elliot – Cellist

Valley Wines Yacht and Tennis Club, Sunday afternoon

For the first time ever, the Summerfest Classical Matinee will showcase a cellist –internationally renowned cellist/composer, Christian Elliot, in fact. This 23-year-old Canadian prodigy is currently pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance in Manchester, England. Christian has performed as soloist with the Thirteen Strings of Ottawa and the McGill Beethoven Chamber Orchestra and appeared as recitalist, chamber musician, and composer at venues in Canada, the USA, Italy, and the UK, including Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.

Carlos Del Junco – Blues Harmonica and Vocals

Delta Dental Mainstage, Friday night

Award winning, Canadian blues musician Carlos Del Junco is back to Summerfest by popular demand. Carlos first wowed Summerfesters in 2000 and has toured Canada Europe and the United States regularly since. He plays harmonica like no one else and has performed in all the major jazz, blues, and folk festivals across Canada. As a diatonic harmonica virtuoso, Carlos has helped to pioneer the “overblow” technique, which he uses to create a “sophisticated sound [that] is at once sensitive, soulful, and sexy, while never forgetting the rawness inherent in blues music.”

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