South Country Fair is a rural, peace-oriented, camping, music and arts festival that manifests itself annually just outside Fort Macleod, Alberta.
We like to think of ourselves as exciting but civilized - a bunch of "jolly escaped asses" as D.H. Lawrence might have described us, who observe a solitary rule of conduct: ’Eschew Obfuscation’ (in Englische: Avoid Confusion; sub-text - be harmless).
We are not an anomaly, but a part of a much larger phenomenon of Folk and Roots music festivals Worldwide. Check out WRAD.CA for a glimpse of what’s happening in Western Canada and beyond.
But, back to our little corner... since the late 80’s SCF has brought together all of the elements of old-world festivals and the heady and exotic flavours inherent to international ports-of-call, combined with very high production standards for a festival of our size, juxtaposed against a big blue prairie sky on the edge of a natural riparian forest.
Our attendance average the last few years has been 2,500, and you can expect to see almost anything on stage, from dub and rant poets, art films, ’street’ performers, scathingly hot Cape Breton fiddling, hot-blooded bag pipes or Flamenco guitars, cool sarod or santur, djembe and/or dadouk, screaming electric guitars and mandolins - pretty much everything under the Sun has graced our stages in the last two decades.
Four performance areas. Three days. Too much to see. One Old Man River.
And of course there’s the Fair Mall, Kidz’ Kountry and an Awareness Tent, too. It all works together to provide a well-rounded, magnificent experience for everyone.