Biggest year yet for Belleville's Porchfest

By Brandon White

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (22/09/12) Laura Todd and John Bokenkamp of "Caeser's Shift" rock the porch of 302 Bleeker Street. Photo by Brandon White.

The rain was pouring down Saturday morning in Belleville’s east end but that didn’t stop the community from showing up for the fourth annual Porchfest.

Crowds of people wandered the streets to see the various bands and performers. Musical acts were stretched out from John St. all the way up to MacDonald Ave.

The festival is a unique experience for Belleville. Families can see what the community has to offer, said Ken Hudson, one of the founders and organizers of the event.

“We heard about a similar event in upstate New York a few years ago. And we thought this is our adopted neighbourhood, and we looked around and said we have a lot of great porches and houses, why don’t we organize an event where people play on their porch?”

Hudson said an outdoor festival is appealing and it’s something fun for the neighbourhood.

“Right from the beginning, I think the idea caught people’s imaginations. It was free, there weren’t a lot of family events in the neighbourhood, and it’s also a great place to walk around. There isn’t a lot of musical venues, and it gives musicians a place to play.”

Hudson said that the event has grown wildly popular in the last year, with more than 100 individual performers booked for this year. Porchfest has grown and flourished since it was created, but Hudson thinks that it’s still growing.

“It has pretty much been the same for three years, but this year it has doubled in size. That’s okay with us, we’re happy as long as everyone else is happy. You know, if it happens to grow to twice the size it is now, it’d be awesome for us and everyone else in the community,” he said.

Hudson’s wife, Lucinda Pritchard, also helped found and organize the event alongside her husband. She said that the festival offers a unique outlet for local talent.

“We have such a wide variety of music. We have some metal and heavy rockers. We have a jazz trio, and some Celtic music. We don’t set what people want to play. We put it out to the community, and let people come out and play what they want. It really shows the variety of the community.

“Now that we have a son, it’s really important we do this for him so he can see what it means to be a part of a community.

“I think it’s important for us to be a part of the community and make the place we live, the place we want to be.”

One of the acts scheduled to make an appearance was hard rock band, Non-Existant. They couldn’t make the show, but one of the group’s members, Dan Foote, still appeared with some friends as backup. Foote said he wouldn’t want to miss the event.

“This is my first year playing here at Porchfest, but I’ve been coming for a few years now, and it always blows me away how awesome the local music scene is,” Foote said. “It’s awesome that we can have a thing where I can be playing my music here, and then wander two houses down to go listen to a country group, or someone playing blues. It’s just great.”

Porchfest’s creators believe the biggest success of the event is its approachability as a family event.

“I think it’s important for us to be a part of the community and make the place we live, the place we want to be.”

Porchfest is free and takes place around the end of September every year.