By Will McGuirk
Nestled in the same hills which gave rise to Blue Rodeo’s career defining album ‘Five Days in July’, just on the other side of Newtonville Road, the Port Hope based Haute Goat farm will host a three day and yes overnight family friendly festival, this weekend Sept 22, 23 and 24 2023.
Last year I had such a good time it became one of my fave fests. They promote themselves as a feel good festival but I’d go further, it's a feel RAD fest! And rad you will feel with a line-up which includes Sarah Harmer, Good Lovelies, Melissa Payne, and Charlotte Cornfield but it's not just the music it's the handmade homegrown accessible considerate nature of it all, it feels, like, so natural, like you’ve been there before which of course the point being you haven’t but that’s the skill of Cultivate. It's also in their promo which doubles as ongoing community engagement. Over the summer the Road to Cultivate in Memorial Park, Port Hope, featured mini family friendly events, slowly growing a community and leading them gently to the farm for the festival itself. And of course in the winter there was the Hibernate Festival.
What this says about Cultivate is that this festival is about a way of being, of values, of reaching out as well as gathering in. Thus Cultivate rates with me the way Harvest, Mariposa, Hillside and River & Sky do. They are energising. A good festival is fuel for life, that's how I find them and how I find myself being afterwards. Being better. Much of that energy comes from the aftermath of the day’s activities; campfire chats after the music ends, staying up later than usual under the canopy of stars. The music, the fun, the food, yes for sure but for me the best festival give time to digest, to absorb, to slow into the time of the festival and be in the now of it. And to leave knowing you have had the experience of it, and it stays with you, and you are of that community too even after you leave and go home sometimes miles, many miles away.
This year, the seventh, Cultivate have added camping so now there is that possibly of staying and enjoying the complete experience of later nights, earlier mornings, watching a festival wake up, watching it sneak away into the night again.
“We are incredibly excited about Cultivate Festival this year - it’s always been fun, but this year we’ve added camping which really contributes to the festival vibe,” says Cultivate Festival Director, Jeff Bray. “It’s a true farm-to-stage experience, and fun for people of all ages. Imagine some of Canada’s best music live on stage, bellies full of incredible food, breathtaking views for miles, and being surrounded by adorable farm animals. Cultivate is so much fun and Haute Goat is simply the best venue.”
Camping gets underway on Thursday, September 21. All info available on the website here.