By Willy Waterton // Photography by Willy Waterton
Just as music and fashions have changed over the last 48 years, the iconic willow tree of Owen Sound’s Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival has weathered high water and winter ice. Now just a shadow of its grand past, the tree still stands at the edge of Georgian Bay.
I photographed the tree with two musicians practicing beneath the branches during Summerfolk 1979 for the Owen Sound Sun Times. Two years earlier, a photograph of musician David Essig under the willow was used for the 1977 festival poster. By 1982, the image had become the festival’s logo and has been used ever since.
The festival’s roots go back to 1975, when John and Tim Harrison, two brothers from Owen Sound, along with the Grey-Bruce Arts Council, envisioned a folk and crafts festival on the shores of Georgian Bay. The early years weren’t easy. I started photographing the festival for the Sun Times in 1976 and I remember clearly the opposition from upright citizens and city council, all concerned that Owen Sound would be overrun by drug-crazed hippies. (I was one of the longhairs—just look at my press card.)
Photographing the festival was a blast, albeit incredibly tiring. I would start Friday afternoon, photographing till the final act at 11 p.m., then go back to the darkroom to process film, print photos and write captions. Then it was home around 2 a.m. for a few hours sleep (usually stumbling over sleeping Summerfolk visitors) before doing it all over again Saturday and Sunday—all while covering the regular weekend sports games, fires and motor vehicle accidents.
And then there was the rain! The site at Kelso Beach in Nawash Park is low and damp even with years of backfilling and armour stone work. During the high water of 2020, the Bay flooded the amphitheatre. Add rain and you had a sodden mess. Since 1976, the August festival has endured 20 rainy weekends. More than one folkie has suggested it be renamed Wetfolk!
My extended family has a long history with the festival—our daughter grew up at Summerfolk and now her young daughter is continuing the tradition. We have a lot of Summerfolk stories. The folk legend Valdy met his future wife (my wife’s high school girlfriend) while hanging out at my wife’s weaving booth. And then there’s Stan Rogers, writer of the famous Northwest Passage ballad. His brother Garnet and their band dropped by our place after the festival for a party. On the local radio station the next morning, we heard that after leaving our home near Chatsworth, the musicians had a close encounter with a cattle beast. They weren’t hurt and I can’t remember the cattle’s outcome. (Stan died tragically in a plane fire at age 33, three years after this photo was taken).
Over the years, financial and organizational issues, changing music tastes, not to mention cancellations during COVID, have all tested the resolve of the board and volunteers. But Summerfolk, one of the smaller music festivals on the summer circuit, continues to thrive and attract generation after generation of music lovers.
This quote from the Summerfolk website sums up its legacy: “The little festival that survived seemingly insurmountable odds will continue.” The same spirit applies to the event’s iconic willow, still growing at Kelso Beach.
