Freddy James
Free (Outdoor) Fun For Families
Contact Staff
According to Errol Johnson, founder and organizer of the West Island Blues Fest, over its 12 years the festival has become a vital source of resources for community development, pointing to the tens of thousand of dollars that the event has pumped into various West Island charities and institutions.
“Being able to donate about forty thousand dollars to the West Island Black Community Association is the most significant achievement of the festival so far,” he says.
Johnson says that as a community we have to show “a commitment towards helping to build our institutions.” And that the organizing body of the festival commits itself each year to give at least half of the annual proceeds to WIBCA, much of which goes towards maintaining the building that the organization owns in Roxboro.
“Every member of our community who supports the festival can be confident that they are also supporting an institution that empowers youth and seniors in the West Island and beyond.”
But Johnson says there are other just as important reasons for Montrealers to flock to the Festival at Dollard des Ormeaux Park on June 20.
It’s an opportunity to spend a day in the park with family at a free outdoor concert, enjoying wall-to-wall music, and savoring a variety of Caribbean food and drinks. And organizers have gone out of their way to bring some of Montreal’s top performers to the grand outdoor stage, including what is expected to be a command performance by Freddy James and his band.
Other big names that will be performing are Carolyn Fe, Sarah Dagenais Hakim and The Rusty Hip Shakers, Clarksdale Moan, Flirt and Mike Goudreau.
West Island Blues Festival on June 20, from 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Dollard des Ormeaux Park, Salaberry Boulevard. It’s free.
Info. westislandbluesfest.com or errol.johnson@sympatico.ca
Tel: 514-620-0554 or 514-781-0890.
