Even without the colourful, eye-catching posters and banners, or volunteers wearing white branded T-shirts, it didn’t take long to realize you had just wandered into Ska Fest, Victoria’s bustling “festival of the people” at Ship Point last Wednesday.
Telltale signs included a whole lot of booty-shakin’ going on, founder Dane Roberts’s trademark dreadlocks, colourfully clad musicians lugging gear on site, the throbbing backbeat and fans swaying in the bleachers as the blinding sun beat down.
Even when the wind began to pick up after Jon Middleton’s engaging opening set, followed by Blackberry Wood and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Roberts was unfazed. The festival would still “entertain, educate and unite” with a breezy bonus.
“It’s beautiful,” the cheerful optimist said, savouring the sunshine. “And when people start dancing, they won’t be drenched.”
Diversity was the operative word at the 14th annual event, said Roberts, whose team made more room for dancing this year.
“You want to reach out to more people,” he said, noting the upbeat, family-friendly event has been expanding its repertoire beyond the Jamaican music strain of its title. “A lot of people who like ska also like reggae, soul, jazz, and we even have punk. We wanted to cover the whole spectrum.”
Headliners at the largest, longest-running event of its kind in North America included hip-hop icon Mos Def, Mad Caddies, Dub FX, Tanya Stephens, the Chantrelles, and more than 30 other international acts in genres from Motown to global roots.
Wednesday’s crowd was as eclectic as the musical lineup, with kids, high schoolers, Goth types and boomers milling about.
“I just love the energy and the way ska music appeals to a variety of age ranges, young and old — and dogs, apparently,” laughed Freya Zurcher, 30, as a cream-coloured Labrador cross shuffled by as if dancing to the music.
It’s the people behind the scenes who keep Christine Whiteside, one of 200 volunteers, coming back, she said.
“It’s such a great atmosphere, and the culture behind ska and reggae is just so inclusive.”
An art installation by the Rocksteady Collective integrated with a sustainability of the Earth theme was evident at Ship Point, where edible greenery and artworks were inventively positioned to beautify the site and reflect the spirit of the music.
“We wanted to bring some life, in addition to the people being here, into the festival that we put on in a big, empty concrete parking lot,” said Christina Cheply, its driving force along with Rocky Mountain Rebel Music lead singer Andrew Murgatroyd.
The collective festooned the lively site with work by such artists as Eric Mazimpaka, who created a Mos Def painting with the non-profit society’s support, as well as hanging baskets, recycling bins sprouting bean plants and filled with sunberries, and herbs, lettuce and strawberries growing in large pop bottles hung on the fences of the festival’s “beverage” garden.
Said Cheply: “We’ve turned the traditional beer garden into a real garden.”
