Summerfolk  |  Membership  |  Soundwaves

 

About Us

WELCOME!

Welcome to the online home of The Georgian Bay Folk Society (GBFS). We hope you will put this site in your favorites and use it often for checking up-coming events and information.

The GBFS, a not for profit organization, has promoted folk music through concerts, dances, folk clubs, and the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival for three decades and counting.

A volunteer board of directors manages the Society and numerous committees carry out operations. The Society receives financial support from various government and private agencies, memberships, as well as corporate, private and public donations.

In addition to music and crafts the Society's quarterly publication, Soundwaves, up-dates members on the activities of the organization, reviews recent CD releases, and tells members about up-coming events.

Our Office is staffed on a year round basis and we encourage you to drop in and say" hi" when you are in the Owen Sound area.
Our office is located on the second floor in the Nortowne Plaza at: 1101 2nd Avenue East, Suite 201, in Owen Sound.

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Letter from the Pesident

Greetings from Georgian Bay Folk Society. This year promises to be an exciting and challenging year for us . I am looking forward to working with our enthusiastic and dedicated team as we begin to plan for Summerfolk 2011.
In January of 2010 we did a Strategic Planning weekend. There were several outcomes as a result of that exercise:

1. We updated our new Vision and Mission to reflect more closely what the GBFS has been evolving into.
2. We highlighted four objectives that will be key in the next few years as we progress toward financial stability and viability.
3. We developed a Business Marketing and Communication Plan, which will assist us in presenting ourselves favourably to potential sponsors and funders, and  will be crucial to guide us through the next few years.

Our two year Trillium grant is nearing an end, and some exciting new programs have emerged for us as a result of the grant and its key objectives :

• Creative Aging was one program that was to be researched, and developed. After 3 successful and well-received pilot projects, we are excited to announce that we have secured a New Horizons grant.This will allow us to launch “The Quilted Word” project, which will combine storytelling with quilting. We have some new community partners in the course of developing this project, and look forward to showcasing the quilts and books that will be the result of this project.
• We have taken some measures to “green” Summerfolk, as this was another objective through Trillium, and we will continue to develop this initiative.
• Arts in the Schools was another objective, and we carried out a pilot with a guitar  workshop and concert in a local high school. We are hoping to expand this, based on the positive and enthusiastic response this program received.

The Monday night Music Sessions at the Downtown Book Store are another way we are offering community programming with new community partners.
So... look out Owen Sound, GBFS is on the move!!

“Feel the Rhythm”

Ruth Parsons - President