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We are an arts collective in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with a mission of supporting music and arts in our local community and enhancing the social well-being of humankind.
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To start, it is important to denote the intentions behind “The GentleFolk”. We are / have / will always be committed to creating a welcoming space for creative expression and enjoyment all while staying true to the simple motto of, “Be excellent to each other.” It is with this simple ideal in mind that we are happy to tell our story.
Our Mission
The GentleFolk Present: A Gentle History of Folks
To start, it is important to denote the intentions behind “The GentleFolk”. We are / have / will always be committed to creating a welcoming space for creative expression and enjoyment all while staying true to the simple motto of, “Be excellent to each other.” It is with this simple ideal in mind that we are happy to tell our story.
The Very Start
Although I could wax poetic about festivals passed and friendships formed it would be secondary to how the whole adventure began. Many Folk Fests ago, sometime between then and now, I noticed a cardinal drift in the camps. It was slow at first but stark when noticed. The usual camp of many had become the camp of few and splinters of friends had scattered around the festival grounds. This of course is the natural order of things, friends grow and change. Thus, I put the effort forth and hosted the very first organized camp. Going by “Theodor H. Pennybottom’s Home For GentleFolk,” a long and obnoxious title that set our standard for long and obnoxious titles, we partied and celebrated growing from a few to many.
Arts, Animation, Anarchy
From there “I” Became “We” and “We” became The GentleFolk. On a whim, none of us expecting more than a polite “No,” we built a plan for an arts and animation submission for Folk Fest, an activity that some had done before but none of this scale. We hand drew a plan and a dream
We, beyond our wildest dreams, were accepted and immediately realized exactly how much work there was to do. With no money, a hefty requirement of lumber and lights, and only a few ideas on how to get there, we began to fundraise. Now to say that The GentleFolk has experience with planning and executing parties would be selling our members short. With close to a decade of party planning among our members, we planned and threw some of the best parties of the year, aptly named “Shipwreck’d”. Stories still reminisced on to this day. All of these sticking to the same ideals of supporting local music, creating a safe space to party, and being excellent to each other.
With funds in hand and more and more momentum and support, we built our first arts project. “The H.M.S Pennybottom” would both metaphorically and physically carry us through the festival season, starting at The Winnipeg Folk Festival and ending at Hoot Owl. It became the highlight of not only our own festival but many, many others. It was a gathering place for wayward souls meandering through warm festival nights.
The Origins of GentleFest
In early 2020, glowing with the success of 2019, we began the task of deciding, “What’s next?” What project would top our last adventure? In the height of our momentum, world events stepped in and slowed us to a halt. Momentum would have stopped entirely, had a few intrepid members over cold beers not stepped up with a new idea… so crazy that we had no option but to give it a try.
A Festival
Reaching into the small amount of savings we had built and throwing on our work hats, we started what would become our greatest triumph. We began work on “The GentleFolk Presents: A 2020 Festival Of Music and Arts,” or, TGPA2FOMA for short. This became lovingly known by attendees and admins as, “GentleFest.” And so, with love in our hearts and “be excellent to each other” in our minds, we blood, sweat, and tear’d our way through the doldrums of a pandemic spring, all in pursuit of an event that we wanted in our hearts.
GentleFest 2: The Fest and the Furious
The year 2021 presented many similar challenges, yet also new ones. Having one festival under our belts, we dreamed bigger and better for our second “GentleFest.” Severe rainstorms and pandemic restrictions couldn’t stop us - we were fiercely committed to bringing together our community for live music and art, in a safe and uplifting environment after such a dark year and a half of the pandemic. We partied and danced our way through the single worst weather weekend of the entire summer (oh the irony!), enjoying beautiful moments with more than three times the attendees than the prior year. With all of the love and support of our community, we knew that 2022 was going to be even bigger and better.
GentleFest 3: Fest Gently
It would seem that for the GentleFolk, good things come in threes. As the dreary drizzle of year two washed away behind us, we excitedly began the prep for year 3. On this, the third festival year, we started to outgrow our humble roots. Long in the past were a few friends dreaming about “what could be”, a dream that seemed so far away back then, now surrounding, embracing, us. New dreams required new people and we opened our doors and hearts to friends new and old. Growth for the GentleFolk came with some celebrations of lasts. The Last Decentralized Fundraiser - a party for the books - saw a roof sweating, drywall cracking, sun rising, bake sailing, good ol’ time. We had to nod our heads to the fact we had outgrown the ability to host house shows and look forward to working with new people and venues! Also, it was our Last Pandemic Festival (Or so we hope!) leaving us to plan without regulatory restrictions.
With a bigger team and more dreams swirling in the miasma of our collective drive we set forth to work on GentleFest 2022.
The land was prepped, volunteers teamed, bands booked. All things seemed smooth sailing with another festival rushing forward into the unknown. Everyone excited, everyone ready. We tensed and, in the moment of maybe… everything went amazing! Three incredible, beautiful days of sun and music.
The feedback was amazing.
“Best line up at any festival in 2022” …
“Best Fest all year!” …
“Why are there people in lingerie playing croquet?”
On this year we grew, as a festival, as a community, as friends.
Looking forward
Every year we, The GentleFolk, strive to grow and change. Navigating the psychedelic landscape of music and arts. Looking for new opportunities to learn and flourish. Bringing forth a new community and love for eachother. It is with these hopes and dreams, doused in a healthy amount of “Be excellent to each other” that we look to what is next. Another festival? New event concepts? Bigger parties? Who knows! What we do know is that we will move forward with nothing but the best intentions, love in our hearts, and the dream of continuing to grow and curate such an amazing community!