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The Nooz

Third Annual Songwriting Competition A Go - Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The deadline for submissions is past and the songs we received have been listened to hard, and John has short listed the contenstants -- 8 Newcomers and 8 Old Pros. He'll be notifying the lucky ones shortly if he hasn't already.

Three-quarter speed ahead to The Slice Bar & Grill for the finals June 18th, 7:00 pm!

NEW CAMPING POLICIES -- PLEASE READ - Thursday, February 04, 2010

The South Country Fair is made possible by a dedicated group of people who, for almost 25 years now, have worked to turn their love of Folk music into a festival, where people can come together to enjoy not only the music but also the community that it cultivates. Naturally, given our inclination towards fostering the Folk community, we have been happy to provide camping to fairgoers in the hope that in providing the communal space, we are nurturing the growth of our community.

    In recent years, we have been paying a price for our success. The primary problem is the limited physical space of the venue complicated by growing attendance, which has manifested mainly as parking problems-especially with vehicles and large trailers inefficiently using up prime tenting in the lower treed camp. Inevitably some automobiles end up obstructing the laneways needed for essential services like the water truck, recycling truck, toilet maintenance truck and emergency response vehicles.

    While we have tried, by implementing parking passes, to limit the number of vehicles allowed on site, the campground continues to present problems related to emergency vehicle access and pedestrian safety. Our concern is that these problems, if left unattended, will undermine the safety, harmony and cohesion of our camping community.

    In order to stay ahead of these problems, we will be implementing the following changes for South Country Fair 24 (July 16th -18th, 2010):

1)    Camping will now be available only to those who purchase a Festival (Weekend) Pass. In order to access the campground, fairgoers will need to show their Festival (Weekend) Wristbands.

2)    While in the past we have invited fairgoers to join us in staying on the grounds in the week leading up to the Fair, we will now reserve this privilege for our volunteers. The fairgrounds will be open to campers at 9am on Friday July 16th. All fairgoers are expected to vacate the fairgrounds by 9pm on Sunday July 18th. Given that all campers must have a wristband to enter the camping areas, campers must check in, at the Main Gate, between the hours of 9am and 11pm, on Friday or Saturday. Volunteer Camping will begin at 9am on Wednesday July 14th and end at 9am Wednesday July 21st.

3)    We will be asking campers to park at the top of the hill, and carry, lug, barrow or cart their camping equipment into the campground. For those with trailers, as well as those who need their vehicle nearby, there will be a $30 Vehicle Access Fee. The fee will be charged per vehicle per entry into the campground. In other words, every time you leave and then drive back into the campground, you will be charged another $30. It is our hope that rather than simply pay the vehicle access fee, campers will decide to leave their vehicles up top and, in doing so, alleviate our congestion and safety concerns. Currently, our long-term plan is to eventually remove all vehicles (other than trailers) from the lower treed area.

    In making these changes, we hope that less vehicles means more tents and more people and, in the long run, a larger but less divided, more responsible and more safe camping community. The people who volunteer their time to make the South Country Fair possible are extremely important to us and we are happy that, in making these changes, we will be able to reward them in a whole new way. For information on volunteering for South Country Fair email: volunteer4scf AT hotmail DOT com.

Vehicles Onsite

Vehicles that enter the grounds must not exceed a speed limit of 5km/hr (average walking speed).
When reversing or parking your vehicle, you must have a spotter.
No vehicle (including trailers) may be parked within 1.5 meters (5 ft) of a roadway.
Violations of any of the above policies will result in the removal of the vehicle from the fairgrounds (by tow truck, if necessary) and the revocation of vehicle access privileges.

Volunteer Camping
Volunteer Camping will begin at 9am on Wednesday July 14th, 2010, and end at 9am on Wednesday July 21st. Of course, volunteers who are actively involved in either set up or strike may, with permission, camp on site prior to or after the designated dates. Volunteers may check in to camp on Wednesday the 14th or Thursday the 15th between 9am and 11am or 7pm and 9pm, or may check in with regular campers anytime after Friday the 16th at 9am.

Given that we appreciate the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, who help make the Fair possible, volunteers who arrive before Friday may use their vehicles to drop off their camping gear. We ask that our volunteers set a good example for other fairgoers by parking their vehicles in the lot at the top of the hill. Those volunteers who need to camp in or with their vehicles will not be charged a vehicle access fee unless they leave and return to the grounds between Friday at 9am and Sunday at 7pm. Every vehicle entry (volunteer or not) between Friday at 9am and Sunday at 7pm will be charged $30.

Once again, for information on volunteering for South Country Fair email: volunteer4scf AT hotmail DOT com.

TICKET PRICES '10 - Thursday, February 04, 2010

Advance Weekend Passes Available Online Soon

Our extensive planning sessions included a review of ticket prices, brought on partly by the need to adjust for the new camp policy requiring campers to hold weekend passes, and partly because we have been trying to encourage people to buy their tickets well in advance.

The recent recession and reallocation of federal and provincial grant funds (partly due to the Olympics becoming a priority) have also had a bearing our price review -- we were informed in early January that arts funding in Alberta would be cut back by 15%, and of course this will impact the cost of event tickets pretty well everywhere.

So... we are increasing the cost of all passes for #24 right across the board, but there will be a significant jump experienced by those who wish to buy weekend passes at the gate -- an adult weekend pass will cost $100 purchased at the gate this year, a 25% bump from last year -- and this is very important to remember... there will be no weekend passes available for purchase at the gate starting next year in 2011 -- weekend passes will only be available in advance starting with Fair #25. Walk up passes will continue to be available for day or evening attendance until they are sold out.

In other words, if you are planning to camp next year please be thinking ahead, or you will be out of luck! This year is an interim year or transition... please make note of these changes!!

The the prices for #24 are as follows, tax in:

Weekend Pass, Advance -- $80
Weekend Pass, at the Gate -- $100
Friday or Saturday Evening -- $40
Saturday All Day, noon until 2:30 am -- $50
Saturday or Sunday Afternoon, noon to 6:00 pm -- $20

Day passes shown are Gate prices, unless otherwise noted. There will be a $5 break on Saturday All day and single evening passes purchased in advance, and the usual breaks available for students and seniors.

First Annual Photo Contest Exhibition at the Bowman - Thursday, February 04, 2010

2009 saw the first ever SCF Photo Contest. Tons of great photos were submitted and were judged on artistic merit as well as how they captured the spirit of the Fair. Our top winner is Shirley Steele of Lethbridge Alberta. Her submission "G's Guitar" has won her two weekend passes to SCF 2010.

The winning photos will be exhibited this April at the Bowman Arts Centre Gallery in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Everyone is welcome to attend the opening reception, April 10, 7-9pm.

Attention Campers and Mall Merchants - Thursday, December 03, 2009

The Fair coordinatorship is currently reviewing our policies regarding camp safety as it relates to congestion and the conspicuous presence of automobiles and large trailers in the lower treed area. Access to the site in general will be affected as these policies are associated with security and the way traffic flows in, through and out of Fish and Game Park during our weekend there.

If you are a crafter, importer or food vendor please be aware we are also in the process of making some adjustments to the Fair Mall guidelines and the application process.

There will be relatively significant changes made to the aforementioned starting next year so please stay tuned for news on both of these fronts -- there should be updates here at the Fair website and via our newsletter sometime in January or February 2010.

NAME THAT CAMP! - Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Last Fair we had great fun watching camp signs go up... our idea was to turn the whole place into a bit of a performance space by getting folks to paint a sign to name their campspace, and it worked! It was really hard to pick just 3 winners, there were so many great ones, like Ball of Awesomeness, Mosquitoes & Cars, Camp Bliss & The Vortex - so of course we decided we just had to do it again. You don’t need to use our materials, but if you didn’t make one yourself at home you can come get a sign blank and create your own! Then you register it with us at the volunteer tent, and get a photo taken of your entry to help us with judging (it was pretty hard to find them all by just walking around in the bush). Be creative, but keep it fun, and in the spirit of the peaceful aura we want to maintain. Who knows, you could be the lucky ones who get the toaster oven, or the
case of Ragu Sauce this year!

SCF -- The Photo Contest! - Tuesday, July 07, 2009

SCF 2009 PHOTO CONTEST & EXHIBITION

Attention all photographers, amateur & professional! Announcing the very first South Country Fair photo contest & exhibition. Works will be judged on artistic merit, in addition to how well they capture the spirit of the Fair. Winners will have their work exhibited in Spring 2010 at the Bowman Arts Centre gallery in Lethbridge. And if ‘enduring fame’ isn’t enough, top winners will receive Weekend passes to SCF #24 in 2010!

To enter the photo contest, please observe the following rules:
1. Photos are to be submitted to
scfphotocontest@gmail.com by midnight, August 15, 2009.
2. Submitted photos must show festival activites (so shots of birds in trees aren’t recommended, unless they’re wearing SCF t-shirts)
3. Limit of 3 photos submitted per person
4. Photos must have been taken at the 2009 South Country Fair
5. The preferred medium for submitting photos is digital (e.g. JPEG) packaged in any common data-exchange format (CD, email attachment, zip file, etc)
6. By submitting photos to this contest, permission is
granted by the photographer to the SouthCountry Fair for their use in Festival and Folk Project publicity, including printed materials and on the fair website.

All photos chosen will receive an honorarium from the Bowman Arts Centre Galleries

Now's The Time to VOLUNTEER! - Tuesday, June 23, 2009

We've got a big push on to fill as many volunteer positions as we can in the next couple of weeks. If you wish to volunteer now is the time to make contact! There is a registration form under the Why menu above, or email volunteer4scf@hotmail.com. Registering with our website lets you 'see' a feedback form that forwards to our voluteer coordinators and gets you farther into the loop as well with access to our new forums area.