As some plan for a trip to some puerta south others are staying north in Puerta Hope - yes the little town that you can’t get down, Port Hope On., is hosting Hibernate, a festival brought to you by the good folks who bring you Cultivate. Hibernate takes place the weekend of Friday Feb 16 thru Monday Feb 19 2024 with performances at various places throughout the downtown.
Triple 2024 Juno nominee Aysanee opens the fest Friday Feb 16 at the Port Hope United Church. Aysanabee is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of the Sandy Lake First Nation, and brings a deep spirituality to his songs. Have seen Aysanabee a couple of times, up at River and Sky and more recently at the Biltmore in Oshawa - we hung out for a bit outside, real deal dude.
Saturday Feb 17 has our pal Mattie Leon he of the anglo-folk stylings of Simon and Garfunkel in for a matinee, big fan of Matt since he first came and played Kops in Oshawa, and I am happy to see his career continue to grow. Inn Echo with Mimi O’Bonsawin close the day - both are at Ganaraska Brewing Company. The fab Melissa Payne is Kitchen Partying it up same day at Beamish House.
Sunday Feb 18 it's a full schedule of events across the city and the day culminates with fan fave alt-country outfit Elliott Brood, ( they kicked off this current tour in Oshawa Feb 7, and had copies of their new record ‘Country’ on vinyl, good stuff, and a good night). Nickola Magnolia is opening, show is at Ganaraska Brewing Co.
Monday Feb 19 has early in the day activities and the fest closes in the afternoon with Shania Twink at the Ganaraska.
Ok so that's some of all of the things and obv check the schedule for more details but note the built-in sustainability inherent in this fest. It is multi-genre, multi-venue, multi-generation, multi-voiced with a focus on enabling art and music and culture to thrive in the town’s core.
I’ve had the good fortune to attend Cultivate at Haut Goat and loved it, such a generous gathering, - I expect Hibernate will be just the same.
