Winterfolk XI

A Winterfolk History

Freetimes Cafe at Winterfolk I

If ever proof were needed of the adage that “every cloud has its silver lining” the creation of the Winterfolk Festival provides a real-life demonstration. For this annual Toronto music event that has made such a positive difference in so many people’s lives began, ironically, because of a negative experience.

Back in the spring of 2002, Brian Gladstone (Winterfolk’s founder and executive director of the Artists For A Better World non-profit organization that now operates it) and his musical partner Tony Quarrington had just completed an unsuccessful audition for a spot at a prestigious summer Folk festival.
“Out of nine people who had auditioned they picked six but they didn’t pick us and it was literally my 200th rejection by a festival over a two or three year period,” Gladstone recalled in a recent interview.

“Suddenly it occurred to me that if I wanted to play a festival I was going to have to start one! There were a bunch of other artists in the room where we were auditioning so I started walking around the room asking them ‘Do you want to play at my festival?’ and I just started hiring people to do that.” ↓ Read the rest of this entry…