Another sold-out Mariposa Folk Festival is underway.
Just after Amanda Rheaume finished her set on the Lightfoot Stage to kick off the festival at Tudhope Park in Orillia, the final weekend and flex passes were sold, marking the third year in a row the venue will be at capacity.
That’s not just good news for the 60-plus artists who thousands of music lovers will meet throughout the weekend. It’s also a boon for the food vendors and artisans who set up shop in the park for the weekend.
Dora Clohisseye of Bread Heads Wood Fired Pizza has her weekends booked from the end of May to Thanksgiving, travelling the festivals and events across Ontario. She said this weekend is likely the busiest weekend of the summer for her business.
“Mariposa is one of our favourite festivals — probably our favourite festival,” she said. “It’s always run very smoothly.”
The Kitchener-based food operation has been a Mariposa mainstay for 14 years. The community of the festival is one of the reasons the business keeps returning.
“Everybody is on top of things and the people are great,” she said. “You see the same people from year to year. People that come with babies in arms and now they’re teenagers.”
The Flying Chestnut Kitchen was another of the more than 20 food options for ticket holders to enjoy during the 2024 Mariposa Folk Festival. Shawn Adler’s business has built a loyal following over the dozen years it has been part of Mariposa and 20 overall in operation.
Known for its Indigenous cuisine and pow-wow fare, Flying Chestnut Kitchen has found a home at folk festivals and pow-wows throughout Ontario.
Calling Mariposa one of the “big three” folk festivals in the province — alongside Guelph’s Hillside and Owen Sound’s Summerfolk— Adler lauded the crowd and their taste buds.
“Clientele at folk festivals like good food,” he said. “What we’re trying to bring is good, healthy, delicious food and something that isn’t provided by any other of the food vendors.”
Adler added his restaurant and Mariposa make a strong pairing.
“It’s an alternative festival,” he said. “It’s not mainstream music. It’s not mainstream food necessarily either.”
The offerings of the nearly 40 artisans are often far from the mainstream as well.
Kingston’s Ross Stewart was selling musical instruments from his booth, which isn’t entirely surprising at a folk music festival. Only his were handmade and all metal.
“A long time ago, I had a wooden ukulele,” Stewart recalled. “When my children were little, we went camping and I left it out in the rain; it fell apart. So, I went home and I did a little research and I didn’t find anything that would be more substantial, so I decided to make one out of metal.”
The camping trip might have been a washout, but it created a new business for Stewart who has been bringing his instruments to Mariposa since 2012.
It’s a good place to be, he said, made better by an eager crowd who are enthralled by his creations.
“Mariposa is a great venue,” Stewart said. “I love coming here. The people are always very enthusiastic.”
Shelly Robillard and Sarah McKeown of Jiyu Silk Art saw that enthusiasm last year at Mariposa, their first as vendors at the festival.
“We had so much fun,” Robillard said. “We were so busy, which was wonderful. With adults, with children, with everyone wanting to make things we decided last year we should just sell tickets because it got so busy.”
“We heard it was a wonderful festival and we’re back because it really was a wonderful festival,” McKeown said. “We had a great time last year.”
The pair from Victoria Harbour and Midland, respectively, create designs using the Japanese art form of water marbling. A colourful collection of hats, hand fans and silk scarves adorned their booth, which can be further customized by patrons at the festival.
“Jiyu is a Japanese term that means freedom and that’s what we figure this art form which is water marbling has given us,” Robillard said. “We have the freedom to paint anything we want. We can choose any colours, we can make any patterns, and the fun part is we invite all the public to come and paint with us this weekend.”
Bubbles by Beverly is another Simcoe County-based business that has set up shop in Tudhope Park for the weekend. Sarah Tyndall was looking after the booth for her mother, Beverly, who started the business as a post-retirement project.
“Growing up, she learned the best gift was a handmade one,” Tyndall recalled. “So, she started making these as gifts for her friends out of soap.”
It is also the second year for the business to take part in Mariposa.
“My mom really enjoys how her products fit in with the other vendors,” Tyndall said. “This folk fest is really lovely because it’s a bigger range of people as well. We fit in more with what they have.”
Musical highlights from Friday included the Secret Sisters, whose harmonies kept the audience enthralled while a light rain fell during the early hours of the festival, and William Prince, the Manitoba-based singer-songwriter, whose soothing voice echoed out over the lake as a perfect way to ease into the weekend.
Mariposa continues Saturday with performances from Band of Horses, Noah Cyrus, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, BA Johnston and many more. The festival wraps up Sunday.
